The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to quash the initial FIR against Republic TV Editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami over his news show on the Palghar mob lynching but gave some relief by setting aside related multiple FIRs and complaints holding they had a “stifling” effect on the exercise of freedom and expression.
Observing that free citizens cannot exist when the news media is chained to adhere to one position, the court said journalistic freedom lies at “the core” of the fundamental right to free speech and India's freedom will rest safe as long as journalists can speak to power without being “chilled by a threat of reprisal.”
Seeking to balance the rights of journalists and accountability, the court, however, said exercising the fundamental right to speech and expression is not absolute and is answerable to the legal regime. A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and M R Shah, which pronounced the verdict through video conferencing on two pleas filed by Goswami for quashing of FIRs and complaints against him, also rejected his prayer to transfer the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI), saying the precedents of this court emphasise that this is an “extraordinary power” to be used “sparingly” and “in exceptional circumstances”.