TRP scam: High Court reprieve for Arnab Goswami till March 5

On March 5, the High Court will also hear another plea by Goswami seeking to quash a suicide abetment case against him. File pic

Journalist Arnab Goswami and other employees of ARG Outlier Media that runs Republic TV channels won't face any coercive action till March 5, said the Bombay High Court, which is hearing the TRP scam case.

The interim relief was extended on Friday after the HC adjourned the hearing on ARG's plea challenging the investigation of Mumbai police in the alleged manipulation of television rating points (TRP).

Maharashtra government's counsel, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, said that in its rejoinder affidavit filed last week to counter the police's charge sheet, ARG had relied upon several new documents that were not part of its petition.

Sibal said that since he would need time to respond to the new documents, ARG's counsel senior lawyer Harish Salve must not rely upon those documents during his day's arguments. Salve, however, insisted on relying upon those documents.

The court accepted Sibal's argument and said that the interim protection granted to Goswami and the others would continue till the next date.

A bench of Justices S S Shinde and Manish Pitale said it will hear the plea through video-conferencing only for its interim prayer of protection on March 5.

The bench will hear ARG's main prayers challenging the police's investigation and seeking the transfer of probe to the CBI or any other independent agency, on March 16 via physical hearing.

Salve said he had taken the vaccination for COVID-19 recently and was due for the next shot six weeks later. He said won't be able to travel to attend the physical hearing.

That prompted one of the judges to ask the Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh on lighter vein, "I am deviating, but Mr Singh (ASG), why is vaccination not happening for us also?"

ARG media and Goswami have argued that the case is an attempt to target them for Republic TV's reportage in the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, and the Palghar lynching last year. The Mumbai police have rejected the claims.

The same HC bench on Friday adjourned another petition filed by Goswami, seeking to quash the case lodged against him for allegedly abetting the suicide of an interior designer Anvay Naik in 2018.

This plea will also be heard on March 5. Goswami was earlier arrested in the case and later released.

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