On Wednesday morning, Chief Judicial Magistrate of Alibaug court Sunaina Pingale termed the arrest of Goswami and two others as “prima facie illegal” and did not approve Raigad police custody, and instead sent them to judicial custody for two weeks .
A division bench of Justice SS Shinde and Justice MS Karnik heard Goswami’s habeas corpus petition for the immediate release of the Raigad police and said it would hear both sides first and pass an order on Friday. The bench said that it was ready to investigate the case and hear the arguments of Goswami’s lawyer on Friday. It has also been said that the respondents should get a chance to contest the case before passing an order on Goswami’s plea for interim relief.
Goswami and two others were charged for the suicide of interior designer Anvay Naik, who in a suicide note blamed the trio for the death of her and her mother Kumud Naik in May 2018. The three owed Rs 5.38 crore to Concord Designs, of which Anve was the managing director, and Kumud, a director, according to the suicide note and police officials.
In the Bombay High Court, Goswami was represented by senior lawyers Harish Salve and Abad Ponda. He demanded his interim release, saying that Goswami’s arrest was ‘completely illegal’. Ponda urged the court to stop the 2018 FIR investigation by the Raigad police.
The CJM had said that the Raigad police did not seek permission from the court to reopen a closed case, did not establish a connection between the death of Anvay and his mother Kumud and also did not give valid reasons for grant of police custody. Were.
Ponda submitted that a closure report on the FIR was filed in April 2019, which was accepted by the magistrate and not challenged in any court by the Naik family. He said that Raigad police filed the case without any judicial order or permission to reopen the case. “The way it has been done is completely shocking for a prudent person. The police have not revived a dead case, ”Ponda said.
Senior advocate Harish Salve asked: “If he is released on interim bail, will he fall in Maharashtra?” When a citizen’s freedom is involved, sometimes procedures have to be dealt with. “
The bench issued notices to the state government and asked Goswami’s lawyers to add Anvayat Naik’s wife Akshat Naik in favor of Arnab’s petition. The court also asked that a copy of the petition be given to the central government. The bench said that it was Ananya Naik’s daughter Adanya, who is seeking reinvestment of an ‘A’ summary report filed in connection with the FIR in her father’s suicide case on Friday. Anvay will also hear Naik’s petition.
Goswami’s writ petition states that the arrest is a violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, a violation of the fundamental rights to life and personal liberty. The petitioner stated that the petitioner was ‘taken out’ from his residence by about 20 officers of the Mumbai Police and was allegedly dragged into the vehicle, and in the process, his son was beaten up.
“It is shocking that a case which was conclusively closed has been reopened with the sole purpose of misuse of power, concocting the facts and retaliating the petitioner (Goswami) for his news coverage and one of retaliation Arrested in the prima facie act, which questioned those in power. In the state of Maharashtra, “the petition states.
“The petitioner has been attacked by the police and arrested wrongfully and illegally in a motivated, false and closed case. This is another attempt of political witch-hunting and politics of vengeance against the petitioner and his channel.
In his petition, Goswami has sought to be “released immediately” in addition to a moratorium on all further proceedings, including the investigation of the FIR. The plea also urged that no drastic action be taken against him in connection with the FIR. Stating that he is “illegally arrested” and “wrongly detained” by police