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Synopsis

Terming the registration of crime as ‘reckless’, the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday (December 17) stayed all further investigations into an FIR filed against Republic TV’s Executive Editor, Arnab Goswami. He was accused of spreading fake news about Chief Minister Siddaramaiah under Section 505(2) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which deals with statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill will between classes.

The complaint was filed by the Secretary of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) against Goswami, alleging that Republic TV Kannada aired a news item claiming traffic disruptions in Bengaluru due to “zero-traffic” instructions for the Chief Minister, which allegedly caused inconvenience to the public, including an ambulance being stuck on March 27 at 7:15 p.m. However, the complainant claimed the broadcast was factually incorrect, as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was in Mysuru at the time, not Bengaluru. Senior advocate Aruna Shyam, representing Goswami, informed the court that the channel deleted the content within 24 hours of its publication.

Justice M. Nagaprasanna, issuing the interim order, observed, “It is un-understandable as to how 505(2) of the IPC could spring even to its remotest sense in the case at hand. Therefore, it is a reckless registration of crime by the second respondent against the petitioner. If such reckless registrations of crime would be permitted to be continued, it would become an abuse of the process of the law.”

The court cited Supreme Court precedents, including Bilal Ahmed Kaloo vs. State of A.P. (1997) and Manzar Sayeed Khan vs. State of Maharashtra (2007), which emphasised restraint in applying provisions of law that restrict freedom of speech without adequate basis.

The court stayed all further investigations until the next hearing, scheduled for January 16, 2025.

 

Cause Title: Arnab Goswami v State of Karnataka [WP 34162/2024]