Karnataka High Court Halts Probe Against Arnab Goswami, Questions 'Reckless' FIR Registration
The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday granted an interim stay on the ongoing investigation against journalist and Republic News editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami. The case had been filed by the Bengaluru police in March this year following allegations that a misleading news report was broadcast regarding Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
The case originated from a complaint lodged by a Congress member under Section 505(2) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which deals with statements “creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes.”
The Court remarked that invoking Section 505(2) in this instance was unjustified, even in its “remotest form,” labeling the case as an example of "reckless registration of crime" by the complainant. “The Court wants to know, what is the offence?” questioned Justice M Nagaprasanna while passing the interim order. The single-judge bench emphasized that permitting such complaints to move forward would amount to misuse of the legal process. “What has Arnab Goswami done? There is a plethora of things brought out by him. It might have proved good for some and bad for others but where is the case of inciting? We will hear both parties but now we will stay the investigation,” Justice Nagaprasanna further stated.
The FIR against Goswami was filed based on a private complaint submitted by Karnataka Congress member Ravindra MV. The complaint referred to a news report aired on March 27 by Republic TV Kannada, which claimed that traffic on MG Road in Bengaluru had been halted to make way for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, resulting in an ambulance being denied passage. Ravindra clarified that at the time in question, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was not in Bengaluru but in Mysuru.
Senior Advocate Aruna Shyam, representing Goswami, informed the Court that as soon as the news report was found to be inaccurate, the channel removed it. Shyam further contended that the complainant had displayed unnecessary enthusiasm, even going to the extent of “suggesting” which section of the IPC should be applied to Goswami.
“The petitioner is the executive director of Republic TV. He is now hauled into these proceedings for the offence under Section 505(2) of the IPC. The crux of the private complaint against him in the case is that a news report was aired on Republic TV Kannada where there was information about public suffering due to zero traffic instructions during the Chief Minister’s movements. The news appeared to be a canard. Immediately thereafter, the news was deleted. All of this happened within 24 hours. By then, the complainant has sought to register the crime. It is not understandable how 505(2) could spring even in the remotest sense in the present case. Therefore, it is a case of reckless registration of crime by the complainant,” the High Court observed while extending relief to Goswami.
The Court has listed Goswami’s petition seeking to quash the case for hearing on January 16, 2025.
Case No: WP No.34162/2024
Date: December-17-2024
Bench: Justice Nagaprasanna
