Karnataka High Court quashes fake news case against Arnab Goswami

The Karnataka High Court on Thursday quashed a case against news anchor Arnab Goswami for allegedly spreading fake news about Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Live Law reported.

Justice M Nagaprasanna, while allowing Goswami’s petition, verbally observed: “Court wants to know what’s the offence against Arnab Goswami, absolutely nothing, abuse on its face.”

The detailed order has not yet been made public.

The case pertains to a report carried on Republic TV Kannada on March 27 alleging that traffic in Bengaluru’s MG Road area was halted for Siddaramaiah and that an ambulance was not allowed to pass through.

However, the chief minister was in Mysuru at the time, according to Congress member Ravindra MV who filed the complaint.

Goswami is the managing director of the Republic Media Network, which owns Republic TV Kannada.

The news anchor’s lawyer, Aruna Shyam, had earlier told the court that Republic TV Kannada deleted the report as soon as it found out that it was incorrect.

The court had stayed the investigation on December 17, saying that it appeared to be a case of “reckless registration of crime by the complainant”.

Nagaprasanna had said that if such complaints were to be accepted, it would amount to abusing the legal process. The judge noted that the entire sequence of events took place within 24 hours and questioned how an offence…

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