Police file revision plea for Arnab Goswami's custody

The Alibaug police in Raigad district on Thursday filed a revision application before a sessions court challenging the order passed by a lower court remanding Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami and two others to judicial custody in an abetment of suicide case.

Chief Judicial Magistrate Sunaina Pingle, after perusal of the case diary and other relevant documents on Wednesday, noted that the prosecution has failed to prima facie establish a link between the deceased and the accused persons.

The CJM, in a late night order, remanded Goswami and the two other accused in judicial custody till November 18 in the case of suicide of interior designer Anvay Naik and his mother, residents of Alibaug, over alleged non-payment of dues by companies of the accused persons.

The police, in its application, said the CJM court at Alibaug had erred in not considering the submissions and grounds submitted by the prosecution while seeking custody of Goswami and two other arrested accused Feroze Shaikh and Nitesh Sarda.

The police sought the sessions court to quash the CJM order and grant them custody of the three accused.

The sessions court at Alibaug, around 90km from Mumbai, hear the application on November 7.

"Taking into consideration the reasons behind the arrest of the accused persons and the arguments put forth by the accused persons, the arrest appears to be prima facie illegal," the CJM said.

CJM Pingle noted that the chain of circumstances, the reason behind the deaths of Anvay Naik and his mother Kumodini Naik and its connection with the accused persons are not established by the prosecution.

"There is no cogent evidence submitted that warrants this court to remand the arrested accused to police custody," she said.

A team of the Raigad police picked up Goswami (47) from his residence at Lower Parel in Mumbai on Wednesday morning.

Goswami and the two other accused were later produced before CJM Pingle in Alibaug and remanded in judicial custody.

Goswami is presently kept at a local school which has been designated as a COVID-19 centre for the Alibaug prison.