Arnab Goswami has been kept in a Zilla Parishad school in Raigad (File)
Republic TV Promoter Arnab Goswami will have to spend more time in jail as the Bombay High Court has adjourned the hearing of his petition for interim relief till Saturday. The court will resume hearing the case at noon on Saturday in a special sitting as the court goes on holiday. The court on Friday heard arguments from Mr Goswami's lawyers but could not hear the other parties because of lack of time.
A division bench of Justice SS Shinde and Justice MS Karnik will hear the respondent, the state government and Anvay Naik's family's petition. Arnab Goswami's lawyers have been pushing for interim relief so that Mr Goswami can come out of jail apart from quashing the FIR against him. Mr Goswami has been kept in a Zilla Parishad school in Raigad which has been turned into a quarantine centre for those who have been arrested.
Arnab Goswami can come out of jail only when the High Court gives him interim relief or he gets bail from an appropriate court. The Chief Judicial Magistrate had rejected the police's plea for police custody and made certain observations of the legality of the case against Arnab Goswami and even the legality of his arrest. The police have challenged that order in the Sessions Court as they are pushing for interrogation in custody as part of the investigation. Arnab Goswami has been sent to 14-day judicial custody by the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Alibaug.
The case dates back to 2018 where Avnay Naik, an architect and interior designer, died by suicide and named Arnab Goswami and two others in a suicide note. The case was closed earlier when the BJP was in power in the state after the police told a court that there was no evidence to proceed against the accused and prosecute them. Mr Naik's family appealed to the government saying the probe had been scuttled and the government ordered a re-examination of the case. Mr Goswami's lawyers have argued that the police have not met the legal requirement of getting the consent from a court for reopening the case which led to the arrest of Mr Goswami.