Maha govt withdraws plea from SC against HC order on FIRs on Arnab Goswami, Legal News, ET LegalWorld – Legal Firms

The Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Maharashtra government to withdraw its appeal – filed during Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s tenure – challenging a 2020 Bombay High Court order suspending the probe in two FIRs filed against Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami for allegedly making inflammatory comments.

The Maharashtra government counsel submitted before a bench headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud that the order of the high court is an interim order and he has instructions to withdraw the appeal. The bench, also comprising Justice Hima Kohli, ordered: “Dismissed as withdrawn”.

The state government had moved the apex court when the Maha Vikas Aghadi government led by Thackeray was ruling the state. The Thanckeray led government was replaced by the NDA government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on June 30.

In 2020, the high court had stayed the investigation into two FIRs filed against Goswami for allegedly making inflammatory comments during news programmes.

The FIRs were connected with Goswami’s comments in TV programmes about the Palghar lynching incident and migrants gathering in large numbers at Mumbai’s Bandra area during lockdown to curb the spread of Covid.