The Bombay High Court on Monday slammed Arnab Goswami’s Republic TV for reporting on the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput. The court ruled that investigative journalism was the act of asking the audience who should be arrested in a case under investigation and encroaching on one’s rights.
The High Court also questioned the News Broadcasters’ Federation. The court also asked why it did not take voluntary action in the media inquiry into the death of Sushant Singh Rajput and in providing irresponsible news on a criminal-emotional issue.
A bench of the Bombay High Court comprising Chief Justice Deepankar Dutta and Justice Girish S Kulkarni on Monday directed the government to take up the case of Sushant Singh Rajput. Eight senior former police officials, social activists, lawyers, and social organizations in Maharashtra have approached the high court with public interest litigation against the media trial in the Sushant case.
The court also criticized the channel, citing a hashtag campaign demanding the arrest of Riya Chakraborty, the actress and Sushant’s girlfriend in the case. The Bombay High Court ruled that such actions could be part of personal malice and should not be done by a responsible channel.
The police have been tasked with investigating the case. The Bombay High Court has openly questioned why the court is here if the channels are conducting investigations and sentencing. Advocate Malavika Trivedi, appearing for Republic TV, denied the allegations of the plaintiffs that the channel had attempted to insult the Mumbai police in the case. Republic TV’s attorney argued that the channel was trying to bring out the hidden facts in the case.
