MUMBAI: Republic TV founding member and editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami has moved the Supreme Court for quashing of a new First Information Report (FIR) lodged against him for allegedly spreading communal hatred in connection with migrants’ protest at Bandra railway station in Mumbai on 14 April, Press Trust of India reported.
In its fresh petition in the apex court, Goswami mentioned that the FIR is ‘politically motivated’ and Mumbai police ‘harbours ill-will and malice’ towards him. This is the second such instance that Goswami has knocked the Supreme Court’s door to quash the FIR registered against him.
Earlier, multiple FIRs were filed against him in various states for making a derogatory comment on Congress president Sonia Gandhi for keeping mum on the Palghar Lynching. Ruling in Gowami’s favour, the apex court had cancelled all the FIRs except one in Nagpur, which has been transferred to Mumbai and has allowed police to proceed with an investigation.
The top court had granted interim protection to the Republic TV editor-in-chief for three weeks and ruled that no coercive action should be taken against him, while quashing all the FIRs except one.
Referring to a report aired on Republic TV on April 29, the complainant, Irfan Abubakar Shaikh, secretary of Raza Educational Welfare Society, had said that Goswami targeted a mosque in Bandra that had no link with the migrants’ protest. Shaikh accusing Goswami of trying to spread hatred against the Muslim community.
The Pydhonie police station filed a case against Goswami on May 2. The complainant in his FIR said the debate on the channel intended to blame the Muslim community for the spread of the novel coronavirus.
With a demand they be sent back to their hometowns, thousands of migrants, who are facing difficulty to survive during the nationwide lockdown, had gathered outside Bandra railway station. The mob gathering was an outcome of a media report that had allegedly said a decision had been made to run special trains to send migrant workers back to their hometowns.
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