Swift granting of bail to Republic TV’s Arnab Goswami dubbed a case of ‘selective treatment’ as many other journalists languish in jail.

New Delhi, India – Eight days after his arrest, in a rare hearing during a holiday recess, India’s Supreme Court granted bail to right-wing TV presenter Arnab Goswami, but critics have accused the top court of failing to show the same urgency for other jailed journalists.

Goswami, who was arrested over a 2018 suicide case, walked out of a Mumbai prison on Thursday flanked by his supporters. The journalist, who has been accused of pandering to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s agenda in his nightly shows, has been charged with abetment to suicide of an interior designer and his mother.

Goswami, the founder of the pro-government Republic TV, has denied the charges and alleged that this is a conspiracy to muzzle him by the Maharashtra government which is run by a coalition of parties opposed to the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

His arrest last week drew swift condemnation from ministers, including powerful Home Minister Amit Shah, from the Modi government that itself has been accused of silencing dissent.

The speedy hearing and bail given to the divisive TV presenter has brought into focus cases of other journalists and activists who are undergoing or have gone through prolonged periods of imprisonment due to judicial delays.

“The Indian judiciary runs on a hierarchy – there is the lower judiciary, the high courts and at the top the Supreme Court. All litigants have to follow this chain, except in rare cases when a higher court may intervene depending on the gravity of the case,” Tarannum Cheema, a New Delhi-based lawyer, told Al Jazeera.

“It is quite surprising that the Supreme Court chose to hear Arnab’s [Goswami] matter when the lower court, in this case, the High Court, had already directed that his bail plea should be heard by a local court,” Cheema said.

In its order, the court said, “We must send a message today to the high courts as well. Please exercise your jurisdiction to uphold personal liberty … if this court were not to interfere today, we are travelling on a path of destruction of personal liberty undeniably”.

Welcome ‘judicial verdict’
BJP’s national spokesperson welcomed the granting of bail for Goswami. “I have known Arnab Goswami for the last 20 years, and I know he is a fighter. He was put in jail under strange circumstances. We accept the judicial verdict, I am happy that he has been released”, Tom Vadakkan told Al Jazeera.

The arrest and subsequent bail of Goswami follows a string of cases involving journalists, students and activists, many of whom have been charged under draconian laws such as sedition, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and the National Security Act (NSA).

Last month, journalist Siddique Kappan was arrested in northern Uttar Pradesh (UP) state while on his way to report on a gang rape and murder case. He has since been charged under the UAPA by the state government run by Modi’s BJP.

In contrast to the swiftness with which Goswami has managed to access justice, Siddique’s lawyer has not been given access to even meet him.

“On October 6, we moved a Habeas corpus petition in the Supreme Court, it was listed for October 12. On that day the Supreme Court told us to go to the appropriate local court. A few days later, our application to meet Kappan in jail was rejected by the local court,” Kappan’s lawyer Wills Mathews told Al Jazeera.

“On October 29 we approached the Supreme Court again with a bail application and seeking directions permitting us to meet Kappan, we filed for urgent listing on November 2 but due to the holiday break the court has listed the matter for November 16.”

Read More >>

Story first appeared in AlJazeera on the 13th Nov 2020