The Supreme Court on Monday pulled up Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami for his style of reporting.
Hearing a plea against Bombay High Court order quashing FIR against Goswami, Chief Justice of India SA Bobde said that the apex court is looking for a sense of assurance on responsibility in reporting.
“Frankly speaking, I can’t stand it. There has to be a responsibility in reporting. This is not the kind of public discourse that we should have. The most important issue is peace and harmony in society, no one is immune to being questioned,” the CJI said.
In June, the Bombay High Court had stayed two FIRs filed against Goswami over alleged defamatory statements made against Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi and ‘communalizing’ a gathering of migrant workers in Mumbai’s Bandra in April.
The court asked senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for the Maharashtra government, to submit a list of FIRs lodged against Goswami, as he contended how the entire investigation can stay in such a manner.
“Nobody is doubting the power of the police to investigate but the impression being given in the present case isn’t proper,” the bench said.
“The state is willing to concede that Goswami won’t be arrested if the investigation is revived. He will be given a notice of at least 48 hours before a summons is issued for questioning. Let there be no impression that someone is above law,” Singhvi said.
The court adjourned the hearing for two weeks and asked Goswami’s counsel Harish Salve to put it on affidavit as to what he proposed to do.