Kerala HC Stays Proceedings Against Arnab Goswami In Criminal Defamation Case For Alleged Anti-Kerala Remarks

The complaint was filed by P Sasi, CPI(M) leader and president of People's Law Foundation, alleging that Goswami had termed Keralites "shameless people", while debating the issue whether central government had prevented UAE government from giving flood relief to Kerala. The owner of Republic TV, ARG Outlier Media Asianet News Pvt Ltd, was also made an accused in the complaint along with Goswami.

Taking cognizance of the complaint, the Magistrate had summoned him to appear on June 20.

Challenging this, Goswami and ARG Outlier Media Ltd approached the High Court under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, seeking to quash the complaint. 

Appearing for them in the High Court, Senior Advocate P Vijayabhanu submitted that the complaint was based on a distorted version of the broadcast. The thrust of the broadcast was to highlight the fake news in relation to UAE's alleged offer to provide flood relief of Rs. 700 crores to Kerala. Goswami was criticizing the persons with vested interests who had started a false campaign that Central Government stopped the UAE grant, submitted Vijayabhanu.

It was further argued that the complainant did not qualify as an aggrieved person, as the broadcast was directed against the false campaigners and not against entire Keralites. 

Considering the submissions, Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan admitted the petition and stayed the proceedings in complaint. 

In January, the High Court had stayed proceedings in a criminal defamation case filed by Shashi Tharoor MP in a Thiruvananthapuram Court.