Mumbai : The Alibag Sessions Court on Monday gave the go-ahead to Arnab Goswami, the editor-in-chief of Republican News Channel, who was arrested in connection with the suicide of architect Anvay Naik. Goswami is lodged in Taloja jail, where the court has allowed police to interrogate him for three hours a day. Goswami’s problems have been exacerbated by the High Court’s refusal to grant him bail.
Raigad police had challenged the judicial custody granted to Arnab Goswami in the District Sessions Court. The hearing was held today. Raigad police had asked for three hours to allow Goswami to be interrogated in judicial custody, the court granted.
Defendant Nitesh Sarda’s lawyers questioned whether the review application filed in the Alibag District Sessions Court stood the test of law. The application will be heard on Tuesday, November 10. Goswami’s bail application is also likely to be heard at the same time, said Arnab Goswami’s lawyer Adv. Ankit Bangera said.
Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had called for Arnab’s family to be allowed to visit him in jail. But in Corona’s background, relatives of the inmate have been barred from visiting all prisons for four months. This decision has been taken due to the risk of infection. That is why Arnab’s family will not be able to visit him in jail. But they can talk to him on the phone, said Home Minister Anil Deshmukh.
What did the High Court say?
The orders issued by the state government to further investigate the suicide of Anvay Naik and his mother Kumud Naik are not illegal. The High Court on Monday rejected the interim bail application of Arnab Goswami, who is in custody in the case, noting that the police do not need the permission of a magistrate to conduct further investigations. Justice S. S. Shinde and Justice Makrand Karnik’s bench, while delivering its verdict, said that the accused did not show anything that we should use our special rights to get immediate release. They are allowed to apply for regular bail under Section 439 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CRPC). Along with Goswami, co-accused Nitish Sarda and Feroze Sheikh were also denied bail and the court directed them to apply for bail in the sessions court.
In a 56-page order, the High Court said that it can’t be said that the state government’s order to further investigate the case was illegal or did not seek the permission of the magistrate. They can always order the way the state government ordered further investigations. The court also clarified that the police do not need the permission of a magistrate to conduct further investigation in a case. The rights of the victims are as important as the basic rights of the accused, he added. The court also rejected the argument of senior lawyer Harish Salve. While the investigation is in progress and the petitioners’ names are in the suicide note, we cannot consider this argument at this stage, he added. The court has also fixed December 10 for hearing on his plea to quash the case.