By Raju Vernekar
Mumbai, Nov 9:
The Bombay High Court on Saturday reserved the order on a plea by Republic TV’s Chief Editor Arnab Goswami, that challenged his arrest by the Maharashtra Police in suicide abetment case and sought interim bail.
A bench of Justices S.S. Shinde and M.S. Karnik refused to pass an immediate order for interim relief. The court said that it will not be able to pass orders today and closed the matter for orders. The bench said that it will have to consult the chief justice in the matter.
Senior lawyer Harish Salve argued that the Maharashtra Government was acting with mala fide intent and the argument that if released on bail, Goswami will again begin shouting on TV screen, is not acceptable. He urged for immediate bail to Goswami.
The court said that Goswami, is at liberty to approach the magistrate court for bail. The court also heard a plea filed by Adnya Naik, daughter of the deceased architect Anvay Naik, who along with his mother Kumud Naik, had died by suicide at their bunglow in Alibaug on 5 May 2018.
Adnya Naik has sought a reinvestigation into the case or transferring it to an independent agency. Meanwhile, a sessions court in Alibaug adjourned the hearing of Raigad police plea which seeks to challenge, the magistrate court order refusing to send Goswami to police custody, to Monday.
Goswami was arrested from his Worli residence in South Mumbai in a dramatic operation by the Mumbai Police and Raigad police on 04 November morning and whisked off to Raigad. Later, he was sent to judicial custody for 14 days by Alibaug Chief Judicial Magistrate Sunaina Pingle. Two other accused were also sent to judicial custody.
In a suicide note, Anvay Naik had allegedly named three persons including Goswami, for failing to pay a total due of Rs 5.40 crore, out of which Goswami’s due amounted to Rs amounted to Rs 83 lakh.
In another development, the Chief Judicial Magistrate of the Alibaug court on Wednesday asked Goswami to maintain decorum, “behave like an accused” and not interrupt the proceedings. Goswami was produced before the Alibaug CMM court in
in the evening on Wednesday and was eventually ordered, at a around 11.30 pm, to stay in judicial custody for 14 days, that is till 18 November 2020. Advocate Vilas Naik, representing Adnya Naik, said, “Goswami attempted to climb the dais in front of the magistrate when she asked to stand beyond the plastic partition (put up for COVID-19 prevention) in order to see his alleged injury marks more clearly.”
In the meanwhile a war of words has began between BJP’s IT cell and Yuva Sena, the youth wing of the Shiv Sena, after the IT cell released screen shots of instagram pictures of the deceased Anvay Naik’s wife Akshata Naik and daughter Adnya Naik. In the photographs both the mother and daughter are seen in a jovial mood.. The photographs released by the BJP’s IT cell also carried a caption “Two females posed as “Pativrata” (faithful wife) in the press conference. Is this the way you mourn the death ?”.
However the Yuva Sena General Secretary Varun Desai has taken strong objection over “politics” by the BJP IT cell by releasing private pictures of the Naik family and has demanded action against the offenders. He has tagged Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh in his complaint.
