Journalist Arnab Goswami on Thursday moved the Bombay High Court seeking a stay on filing of chargesheet and further investigation into the 2018 abetment to suicide case of Anvay Naik, reported Live Law.
He also sought transfer of the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation or any other independent investigating agency which is outside the purview of the Maharashtra government.
The Republic TV editor-in-chief has filed an urgent interim application in a pending plea filed by him earlier seeking quashing of the first information report against him in the case, according to Bar and Bench. The matter will be heard by the Bombay High Court on December 10.
In his application, Goswami referred to the November 27 bail judgement of the Supreme Court, to suggest that allowing a chargesheet would be out of “malicious intent” by the Maharashtra government.
“Should such a chargesheet be filed only with malicious intent to stifle the means of justice and legal remedy available to the petitioner,” his application said. “Allowing chargesheet to be filed would be a grotesque mockery of directions and law laid down by the Supreme Court in its order of November 27.”
Last week, the Supreme Court elaborated on its reasons for granting bail to Goswami and noted that criminal law should not become “a tool for selective harassment of citizens”.
In his Thursday’s application, Goswami also mentioned a purported statement by Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on November 29, where he called for re-investigation into the suicide case and said that a “chargesheet will soon be filed”.
To this, Goswami’s application said: “Statement of Maharashtra home minister is an open disregard and an unapologetic contravention of the judgement of the Supreme Court”.
Goswami and two other people – Feroz Shaikh and Nitesh Sarda – are accused in Naik’s abetment to suicide case. Naik and his mother were found dead in their home in Kavir village near Mumbai in 2018. A suicide note said that the Goswami, Shaikh and Sarda had not paid dues amounting to Rs 5.4 crore.
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