Karnataka High Court Halts Criminal Case Against Amit Malviya and Arnab Goswami

Court Decision on Criminal Case

On Thursday, the Karnataka High Court intervened to stay a criminal case against Amit Malviya, the head of the Bharatiya Janata Party's social media cell, and Arnab Goswami, Editor-in-Chief of Republic TV. This case stemmed from allegations that they falsely asserted the Istanbul Congress Center was an office for the Indian National Congress.

The Istanbul Congress Center, featured in a Republic TV segment aired on May 15, is a convention facility owned by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.

Earlier this week, Bengaluru Police had filed charges against Malviya and Goswami following a complaint from Shrikant Swaroop BN, the head of the Indian Youth Congress's legal cell. The first information report cited sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to inciting riots and intentional insults aimed at provoking public disorder.

The complainant accused them of attempting to mislead the Indian populace, tarnish a significant political party's reputation, stir nationalist sentiments, incite public unrest, and jeopardize national security and democratic integrity.

The Indian Youth Congress highlighted that these claims emerged amid strained relations between India and Turkey, particularly due to Turkey's support for Pakistan during heightened tensions following Operation Sindoor.

While the Indian National Congress had previously announced intentions to establish an overseas office in Istanbul in 2019, there have been no updates since, and Turkey is not mentioned on the Indian Overseas Congress website.

Republic TV later stated that the image used was a result of a 'technical error' by a video editor.

However, the Congress party contended that an apology was insufficient to address the issue.

Additionally, a separate case was filed against Malviya for allegedly sharing an image that combined a face of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with that of Pakistani Army chief Asim Munir, suggesting Gandhi was echoing Pakistan's narrative.

Malviya, who leads the BJP's social media efforts, has also sought to dismiss this case.

During the court proceedings, advocate Aruna Shyam, representing Goswami, argued that the Republic TV editor-in-chief had merely expressed his opinion regarding Turkey's stance on India's interests.

Shyam emphasized that the image used was not representative of the Congress party's office and was mistakenly posted by a junior editor, with the channel promptly issuing a clarification.

He asserted that there was no substantial case against them, claiming the complaints were politically motivated.

The state government's counsel informed the court that Malviya and Goswami had only received notices and that the investigation should continue.

Following the Congress's announcement of the case, Malviya shared a clip from the show on social media, commenting, 'The FIR is for this video. Imagine.'