The Karnataka High Court has pulled up the State police for recklessly and irresponsibly booking Republic News Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami in a fake news case, saying that he was dragged into the matter only to settle other scores.
The single-judge Bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna recently quashed a criminal case filed against Goswami, who was booked in 2024 over allegations that Republic TV aired a fake news report on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
The High Court observed that merely because the petitioner was a renowned name in the fourth estate, he was dragged into the web of crime, without rhyme and reason, only to project registration of a crime against him, which on the face of it, was reckless.
A first information report (FIR) was lodged against Goswami last year following a private complaint filed by Karnataka Congress member Ravindra MV.
The complainant alleged that on March 27, 2024, Republic TV Kannada aired a news story claiming that traffic in Bengaluru’s MG Road area was stopped to enable passage for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, which ultimately led to an ambulance not being given the right of way.
As per Ravindra, during that time, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was not in Bengaluru, but in Mysuru.
Goswami was booked by the police under Section 505(2) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for the offence of making statements, ‘creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes’.
Goswami approached the High Court to quash the case.
Appearing for the petitioner, Senior Advocate Aruna Shyam, had apprised the High Court during previous hearings that the news report was deleted as soon as the channel realised it was incorrect.
He further contended that the complainant had been overenthusiastic and even suggested in his complaint, which provisions of the IPC should be invoked against Goswami.
The single-judge Bench questioned the State on why Goswami had been booked in this case when he was not tied to the day-to-day affairs of Republic TV Kannada.
The High Court said when it queried about the offence the petitioner had committed, it did not get any reply. The petitioner did not ostensibly commit any offence and was dragged only because of being Arnab Goswami, it added.
The High Court noted that being the Editor in-Chief or the Executive Director of Republic Media Network, he neither made a statement nor aired anything to promote hatred between the classes. Recklessness pervaded throughout the registration of the complaint.
Even if the allegations levelled in the complaint were taken to be true, the ingredients of the alleged offence of Section 505(2) IPC have not been met against Goswami, even in the remotest sense.
It remarked that except malafides, there was no substance in the complaint.
Even permitting the probe in the case at hand would become an abuse of the process of the law and result in miscarriage of justice, said the single-judge Bench, adding that it deemed it appropriate to obliterate the damocles sword hanging on the head of the petitioner of a irresponsible crime registered against him.