New Delhi: The Bombay high court on Monday has refused interim relief to Republic TV editor and owner Arnab Goswami, arrested in connection with the suicide of an interior designer. While refusing interim relief, the bench said that the petitioner had not made out a case for extraordinary measures, and that the option of seeking regular bail is still available to Goswami.
“Rejection of interim application shall not be construed as an impediment to the petitioner seeking alternate remedies. Observations are prima facie in nature confined to the present application only,” Justice Shinde, the presiding judge, said, according to LiveLaw.
The bench also rejected the interim bail applications of co-accused Nitish Sarada and Parveen Rajesh Singh.
Even before the high court order, Goswami on Monday filed a bail application before the sessions court at Alibaug in Maharashtra’s Raigad district.
The sessions court is currently also hearing a revision application filed by the Alibaug police challenging a November 4 order of the magistrates court denying them custody of Goswami and two other accused in the case and remanding the three in judicial custody.
“We have filed a bail plea this morning before the sessions court,” Goswami’s lawyer Gaurav Parkar said.
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Goswami and two others – Feroze Shaikh and Nitish Sarda – were arrested by Alibaug police on November 4 in connection with the suicide of architect-interior designer Anvay Naik and his mother in 2018 over alleged non-payment of dues by companies of the accused.
After his arrest from his residence in Mumbai, Goswami was taken to Alibaug, where the chief judicial magistrate refused to remand him in police custody. The magistrate’s court remanded Goswami and the two others in judicial custody till November 18.
Goswami was initially kept at a local school which has been designated as a COVID-19 centre for the Alibaug prison. On Sunday, he was shifted to the Taloja jail in Raigad district after allegedly being found using a mobile phone while in judicial custody.
(With PTI inputs)