The Supreme Court (Suprem Court) on Wednesday heard the interim bail plea of Arnab Goswami, editor-in-chief of Republic TV. During this, the court made a strong comment on the Maharashtra government and said that if the state governments target anyone, then it would be a violation of justice.
During the hearing, Justice Chandrachud said, ‘If we as a Constitutional Court do not protect personal liberty, then who will? If the state governments deliberately target a person, then they should know that there is apex court to protect the freedom of citizens.
The Supreme Court, while advising the Maharashtra government during the hearing, said, ‘Our democracy is exceptionally flexible. Maharashtra government should ignore all this (Arnab Goswami’s taunts on TV). Justice Chandrachud said, ‘I do not watch Arnab’s channel and your ideology may also be different, but this path is not fair if the court will not protect freedom of expression.’
The Supreme Court asked Maharashtra whether custodial interrogation needed to be conducted in Arnab Goswami’s case? Justice Chandrachud asked the Maharashtra Police, ‘If they owe money and someone commits suicide, is it a case of kidnapping? Is this a case of custodial interrogation? If the FIR is still pending, will it not be granted bail? ‘
During the hearing, senior advocate Harish Salve, who appeared in the Supreme Court on behalf of Arnab Goswami, demanded a CBI inquiry into the matter. He said during the debate on bail that the powers of the state are being misused by ignoring malice and facts. We have gone beyond the FIR stage. An FIR was registered in this case in May 2018. The powers are being misused to double check.
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