[Breaking] Bombay High Court To Pronounce Order On Arnab Goswami's Interim Bail Application Tomorrow

The Bombay High Court will pronounce orders on the interim bail applications of Arnab Goswami(Editor-in-Chief of Republic TV) and two other accused in the 2018 abetment to suicide case tomorrow.

A division bench comprising Justices S S Shinde and M S Karnik will pronounce orders tomorrow at 3 PM. 

The bench had held a special sitting yesterday(Saturday) from 12 noon to 6 PM to hear the case. Before that, the bench had heard the case on Thursday and Friday from 3 PM to 5 PM. It also heard Advocates Vijay Agarwal and Nikhil Mengde for the co-accused in the matter, Nitish Sarda and Praveen Rajesh Singh, respectively.

Though Senior Advocates Harish Salve and Abad Ponda made vehement submissions seeking ad-interim bail for Goswami, the bench refused to grant it. The bench clarified that the pendency of the case in the High Court will not be an impediment for the petitioners to seek regular bail under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure before the concerned court. If such an application is made, the court ordered, the same should be decided by the concerned court within four days of the filing.

It was on November 4 morning that Goswami was arrested from his Mumbai residence by the Raigad police in connection with the suicide of Anvay Naik, an interior designer who had executed works for Republic TV. Naik had lef a suicide note naming Goswami and two others, alleging that the non-payment of dues by them drove him to death.

On the night of November 4, the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Alibag remanded Goswami to judicial custody for 14 days.

Challenging his arrest and detention, Goswami moved a habeas corpus petition in the High Court.

During the course of the hearing, the bench extensively quizzed Goswami's lawyers regarding the maintainability of habeas corpus petition against a judicial remand order. The bench repeatedly asked why the alternate remedy of regular bail under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure was not invoked.

Salve submitted that the arrest was politically motivated and the State was acting with malice against Goswami and hence the extraordinary remedy of habeas was maintainable. He further argued that the FIR did not disclose any offence against the Republic TV anchor.

Detailed reports of the hearings may be read below :

No Bail For Arnab Goswami; Bombay High Court Reserves Order On Interim Bail; Says Parties May Move Sessions Court

If We Don't Finish Arguments Today, We Will Post Case After Vacations' : Bombay HC During Arnab Goswami Case Hearing; Arguments In Progress