New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted interim bail to Republic TV’s Arnab Goswami stating that the High Court was in error in rejecting the application for grant of interim bail.
The top court also allowed the interim release of the co-accused Neetish Sarda and Firoze Mohammed Sheikh in the case.
Arnab was arrested on 4th November and has been under judicial custody, since then in a criminal case relating to the abetment of suicide of interior designer Anvay Naik in 2018.
After a marathon hearing session which started from 11 AM and lasted till 4.15 PM, the bench observed:
A vacation bench comprising Justices D Y Chandrachud and Indira Banerjee passed the order after an urgent hearing given to the petitions challenging the November 9 order of the Bombay High Court which denied the accused interim bail in the habeas corpus petitions filed by them challenging their custody.
During the hearing, Justice Chandrachud had expressed disappointment that the High Court failed to exercise its jurisdiction to protect the personal liberty of a citizen. “If this court does not interfere today, we are traveling on the path of destruction. Forget this man (Goswami).
The Court said that Raigad police should ensure the compliance of the order of release forthwith. The accused should execute a personal bond for an amount of Rs 50,000/- for release on interim bail.
