Arnab fails to get HC relief, files bail plea in lower court
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Monday declined to grant interim bail to Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami and two others, arrested in a case of abetment of suicide of an interior designer, prolonging their stay in jail in a matter that has generated wide public attention.
Before the HC ruling, which came in the afternoon, Goswami (47) on Monday morning filed a bail application in the Alibaug sessions court in the adjoining Raigad district, where the 2018 suicide abetment case has been registered, his lawyer Gaurav Parkar said.
A division bench of Justices S S Shinde and M S Karnik, while rejecting the interim bail pleas of Goswami and the two other accused Feroze Shaikh and Nitish Sarda said: "no case has been made out for us (court) to exercise our extraordinary jurisdiction".
The HC said the accused had the remedy to approach a lower court in Raigad district, where the case has been filed, for regular bail.
With the high court refusing interim bail to Goswami, who was arrested on November 4 by the Alibaug police from his Mumbai residence, the news anchor's stay at Taloja Jail will get extended.
The sessions court is also hearing a revision application filed by the Alibaug police, challenging a November 4 order of a magistrate's court denying them custody of Goswami and the other accused, and remanding them to judicial custody till November 18.
The sessions court will continue hearing the revision application on Tuesday, special public prosecutor Pradip Gharat said.
Goswamis lawyer Parkar said after the revision plea is heard, the court will take up the bail plea for hearing.
"The court has issued notice to the police on the bail plea," he said.
On November 6, the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) of Alibaug allowed the police to question Goswami and the two other accused for three hours daily at the Taloja prison in Navi Mumbai.
Prosecution application read. Since the accused persons are in judicial custody, the police are seeking permission to question them for three hours for investigation purposes in jail. Permission is granted, the magistrate said in the November 6 order.
The police, in their application, sought permission to question the trio for three hours every day till they are released on bail.
Goswami and the two others were arrested in connection with the suicide of architect-interior designer Anvay Naik and his mother, residents of Alibaug, over alleged non-payment of dues by companies of the accused.
The HC, in its order on Monday, said, "The petitioners have an alternate and efficacious remedy of seeking bail before the sessions court concerned (in Alibaug).
"We have already noted earlier that if such a bail plea is filed, then the sessions court shall decide the same in four days."
The bench noted that refusal of the interim bail applications shall not affect the remedy available to the petitioners to seek regular bail.
It said the sessions court shall hear and decide the bail pleas on merits.
"Rejection of interim order shall not be construed as an impediment to the petitioners seeking alternate remedies.
"The observations made in this order rejecting interim bail are prima facie only," the HC said in its order.
The HC said in its opinion, the further investigation ordered in the case by the Maharashtra government cannot be termed as illegal and without seeking permission of the magistrate.
There is no manner of doubt in our minds that the State Government can always direct a further investigation to the concerned police officers, as done in the present case, the bench said, adding before carrying out the said probe, the magistrate was intimated about the further investigation.
The HC noted that the victim's rights are equally important as the rights of the accused.
The order noted that in the present case, the informant (Naik's wife Akshata) was neither given any notice nor heard when the A Summary report (closure report) was submitted by the police.
Even the order accepting the closure report was not communicated to the informant.
"The fact that the Magistrate did not give notice and opportunity to the first informant to file a protest petition before accepting the report, goes to the root of the matter, the HC said.
The bench said in the present case, two members of a family have lost their lives and allegations are made against the three petitioners.
Therefore, the continuous persuasion to the State Government by the informant for redressal of her grievance since her two family members had committed suicide.
"And in the aforesaid background, the concerned investigating officer, after intimating the Magistrate, commences a further investigation, cannot be said to be irregular or illegal by any stretch of the imagination, the HC said.
The high court said it cannot accept the contention of the petitioners that there cannot be a further investigation when the order passed by the magistrate accepting the closure report was without notice and without giving an opportunity to the complainant for filing a protest petition.
The high court also said it cannot consider at this stage the submission made by Goswami's counsel Harish Salve that the FIR in the case does not disclose any offense against the petitioner.
The said submission deserves no consideration at this stage when the investigation is in progress and the alleged suicide note recovered by the Investigating Officer mentions the name of the petitioner, the HC said.
It added that the court refrains from expressing any opinion at this stage as it has posted the petitions seeking quashing of the FIR on December 10.
Goswami, Shaikh, and Sarda last week filed petitions in the HC, challenging their "illegal arrest" in the case and seeking interim bail.
Apart from interim bail, the petitioners also sought that the HC stay the investigation into the case and quash the FIR against them.
The court will hear their pleas seeking to quash the FIR on December 10.
After arrest, Goswami was initially kept at a local school which is designated as a COVID-19 quarantine centre for the Alibaug prison.
He was on Sunday shifted to the Taloja jail after allegedly being found using a mobile phone while in judicial custody, according to police.
In his petition, Goswami alleged that he is being targeted and harassed by the Maharashtra government for his reportage against the state government and the Mumbai police on his news channel.
Meanwhile, a news anchor of Republic TV has written a letter to Chief Justice of India (CJI) S A Bobde urging him to take cognizance of shifting of Goswami to the Taloja Jail to keep him allegedly with "hardened" and "underworld" criminals and provide "some sort of safety" to him.
Pradeep Bhandari, a consulting editor with the news channel, in his letter written on Sunday to the CJI, alleged that Goswami has been shifted to jail on a "false pretext".
Bhandari said Goswami has said that "his life is in danger and he has been beaten up in the morning " and urged the CJI to take cognizance of this matter and provide some sort of safety to him.
The letter said Goswami has been "brutalized and tortured " for his views against the Maharashtra government.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Commercial LPG hike: Delhi restaurant owners warn of higher menu rates, job losses
New Delhi (PTI) A day after a 50 per cent rise in commercial LPG cylinder prices, Delhi's food business, with restaurant owners and street vendors have warned of higher menu rates, financial strain and potential job losses if the trend persists.
The price of commercial LPG was hiked by a steep Rs 993 per 19 kg cylinder, marking the third consecutive monthly hike amid rising global energy prices linked to the West Asia conflict.
For many in the restaurant industry, the spike has been both sudden and steep.
Manpreet Singh, honorary treasurer of the National Restaurant Association of India, said that eateries are already grappling with supply challenges alongside rising costs.
"There is a huge difficulty in getting these cylinders, and black marketing is also increasing in many unregulated sectors," he said, noting that prices that were once around Rs 1,600, often dropping to nearly Rs 1,300 with discounts, have now surged to between Rs 3,000 and Rs 4,000 per cylinder.
He further added that a medium-sized restaurant typically uses between two and five cylinders daily, making the increase particularly burdensome as costs mount.
Singh further said that as costs mount, smaller establishments could struggle to stay afloat. Instead, the association has advised restaurants to shift towards piped natural gas connections through Indraprastha Gas Limited as a more sustainable alternative.
"If this problem continues, PNG is the only long-term solution," he said, adding that temporary measures like coal offer limited relief due to slower cooking times and that it can largely be used only for tandoors.
Echoing similar concerns, Kabir Suri, owner of Mamagoto in Khan Market, said the impact is already visible across the industry. "There has been almost a threefold increase in cylinder prices for restaurants," he said, adding that rising fuel and logistics costs are compounding the pressure.
"If this continues, it will become a significant financial burden, and food prices will inevitably go up. Adding to this burden, higher fuel costs are also affecting logistics and transportation, making a price rise unavoidable. The extent of the impact will vary between small eateries and large chains depending on their scale," he said.
Global oil prices have surged nearly 50 per cent following disruptions in energy supply chains due to the West Asia conflict, pushing up commercial fuel costs and transport expenses.
A West Delhi-based restaurateur said they are trying to manage rising costs while keeping their staff secure. "We are trying to ensure that our staff, from kitchen workers to waiters, are paid on time and do not face immediate hardship," the owner said.
"We are a small restaurant with seating for about 20 to 25 people at a time. But if this continues for long, we will have to take difficult calls. There is only so much we can absorb, and menu prices will have to go up. We hope this does not continue for a longer period," he said.
Another restaurant owner in North Delhi, who did not wish to be named, said operational adjustments alone may not be enough. "We are checking our costs very carefully and trying to cut wherever possible, but if fuel prices remain high, it will eventually affect how we run the business," the owner said.
"Coal helps in tandoor cooking, but it takes more time," the owner further added.
The strain is even more acute among street vendors, many of whom operate on thin margins. A vendor in Saket said he had recently expanded his business, moving from a mobile cart to a rented outlet.
"I have a family to feed and more responsibilities now. Earlier, I managed with a moving cart, but after renting the place, expenses increased," he said. "Whenever cylinders were unavailable, I had to buy them at higher rates in the black market. Now even regular supply is too expensive, and if this continues, we may have to shut down," he added.
In Laxmi Nagar, another vendor said they are struggling to keep the business running. "Sometimes we even used domestic cylinders from home when supply ran out because we had to keep the stall running," he said, adding that rising costs leave little choice but to increase prices or bear losses.
On April 1, the rates of commercial LPG cylinders were hiked by Rs 195.50 per cylinder, followed by a Rs 114.5 hike on March 1, taking the total increase over the past three months to Rs 1,303. With the latest revision, a 19 kg commercial LPG cylinder now costs Rs 3,371.5 in Delhi, up from Rs 2,078.5 earlier.
The prices of domestic LPG cylinders used for household cooking have remained unchanged. They were last increased by Rs 60 per 14.2 kg cylinder on March 7 and currently cost Rs 913 in Delhi.
