Mumbai: In a big relief to Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday suspended First Information Reports (FIRs) against him filed by Mumbai Police over its coverage of the Palghar lynching incident and the gathering of migrant workers at Bandra railway station.
In accordance, all proceedings in the FIRs registered at the NM Joshi Marg and Pydhonie Police stations would remain suspended, and no coercive steps taken, reported Republic TV.
In an interim order, a division bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Riyaz Chagla noted that prima facie, no offence was disclosed against Goswami and he had not intended to cause public disharmony or incite violence. The court, while admitting the petition filed by Goswami, directed the police to not take any coercive action until final hearing and disposal of the plea, reported PTI.
Following the court order, Arnab Goswami said that the Congress party and its chief has lost the battle.
Arnab Goswami said, “What has also lost is the attempt to use the tactics of the emergency to try and say you can file multiple FIRs against a single journalist, to drag him from one state to the other, to use your police apparatus, to use your government to get the upper hand. You cannot get the upper hand when you are wrong on ethics.”