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Updated: Apr 24, 2020 14:35 IST

Arnab Goswami, the editor-in-chief of Republic TV, moved the Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday seeking quashing of the first information reports (FIRs) registered against him in various Congress-ruled states across the country for the offences of hate speech and criminal defamation of party president Sonia Gandhi.

Goswami submitted that the FIRs against him are politically motivated and should be quashed. He also prayed that no action should be taken against him on such complaints and FIRs until the case before the SC is decided.

He also sought central government security for himself, his family members and his offices in Delhi and Mumbai.

A two-member bench of justices, DY Chandrachud and MR Shah, will hear his plea on Friday at 10.30 am.

The following are some of the main arguments raised by Goswami in his plea.

Republic TV highlighted tardy probe into Palghar lynching

Goswami submitted that the FIRs were filed in connection with a debate aired on R. Bharat -- the Hindi news channel run by Goswami -- highlighting the tardy investigation into the Palghar lynching incident.

The lynching occurred on April 16 in Maharashtra’s Palghar district, where three persons, including two Hindu seers, aged 70 and 35 years, were killed by a mob in the presence of 10 policemen and forest guards.

Goswami hosted a debate on R. Bharat on the Palghar incident in a news show called ‘Poochta hai Bharat’ on April 21.

The thrust of the news show, Goswami submitted, was to question the tardy investigation, inconsistent versions of the authorities and the administration and Maharashtra government’s silence on the incident.

Concerted social media campaign and FIRs

Goswami claimed that since Maharashtra is ruled by a coalition of the Shiv Sena, the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party, there was a well-coordinated, widespread, vindictive and malicious campaign launched by the Congress and its activists against him for telecasting the show on Palghar lynching.

“This campaign was carried out online through news reports and tweets. Various members of the Indian National Congress demanded the immediate arrest of the petitioner by using the hashtag trend #ArrestAntiIndiaArnab,” Goswami said.

The FIRs were registered against him in Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh for offences of hate speech, hurting religious sentiments, promoting enmity between religious groups and criminal defamation.

The petition also claimed that Congress members in other states, including Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Telangana, have filed complaints against him.

FIRs registered at the behest of Congress party

Goswami claimed that the FIRs registered against him are false and vindictive and have been done by the Congress activists to harass and intimidate him and dissuade him from conducting investigative journalism and bringing the truth before the public.

“The complaints and FIRs are a part of a well-coordinated and malicious campaign by the Congress and its members of instituting false and baseless complaints against the petitioner before different police stations simultaneously in various parts of the country,” the petition said.

However, the petition does not mention anything about Congress president Sonia Gandhi though some of the FIRs against Goswami are for criminal defamation of her.

Goswami and wife attacked

Goswami claimed that two individuals on a motorcycle waylaid him and his wife on April 23 late evening when they returning home from their office. The attackers claimed to be Congress members when confronted by Goswami’s security officials, the petition said.

Goswami filed a complaint at NM Joshi police station in Mumbai shortly after the incident, requesting the authorities to take appropriate action against the attackers.

“While the police initially refused to take the petitioner’s complaint, after some persistence, an FIR was registered by the police on April 23 April against unknown persons,” the petition said.

Republic TV fosters communal harmony

Goswami submitted that he has time and again encouraged and used Republic TV to foster communal harmony, especially in this critical time of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.

“In fact, the petitioner has been strongly opposed to any propagation of any communalisation by various other political parties for their own vested interests. It is inconceivable that the broadcast aired on April 21 in relation to the Palghar incident could have incited any communal tension and it is apparent that only one political party is taking offence on the broadcast,” the petition said.

Violation of freedom of speech under Article 19

The complaints and FIRs, Goswami alleged, have been registered with the intention to muzzle free speech under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.

“FIRs ought not to lodged to gag the media and prevent freedom of the press, which is a fundamental right under the Constitution of India,” the petition added.