Iqbal Shaikh, former Assistant Commissioner of Mumbai Police, has filed a petition at a Mumbai Court seeking to restrain Republic TV, R Bharat and Arnab Goswami from reporting on the alleged TRP scam, LiveLaw has reported. The suit also sought Rs. 5 lakh in damages due to the apparent mental agony caused to the plaintiff on account of the “defamatory reports” against Mumbai Police.
“..when the Defendant No. 1(Arnab Goswmai), as a personally interested party, makes rhetorical allegations in a fiery tone by branding Mumbai Police an Organisation inhabited by dishonest officers, and that too without any substance, then it badly hurts the Plaintiff for whom Mumbai Police has been his heart and soul”, Iqbal Shaikh said in the plea.
The plea filed through advocate Abha Singh alleges that the Republic News Network has embarked upon a “smear campaign” against Mumbai Police which has caused grave offence to the plaintiff as someone who “takes pride of his legacy in the illustrious Police Force of Mumbai”. “The Plaintiff submits that the Defendant No. 1 has transgressed his limits as an owner of two most popular TV Channels and has started pursuing his own agenda by being the Editor-in-Chief and by blurting out large sermons about his own case which is under probe by a statutory body”, the suit claims.
“The Plaintiff submits that Republic TV channel is subject to a statutory investigation in this case and that they have got all the lawful remedies to redeem their position in the legally constituted forums. However, instead of following the course prescribed under the law, it is seeking to take law in their own hands and have embarked upon a unilateral process to defame the Mumbai Police before the large following it has. All these things are taking place in open and gross violation of the Norms of Journalistic Conduct issued by the Press Council of India under the Press Council of India Act, 1965,” it states further.
Latest in the Arnab Goswami vs Mumbai Police saga
It was announced on Monday that Arnab Goswami is all set to sue Mumbai PC Param Bir Singh for Rs 200 crores as damages after the Mumbai Police and Maharashtra Government lawyer today in the Bombay High Court admitted that Republic is not named in the FIR in the TRP case. In a news release, the media giant informed that Republic Media Network Editor-in-Chief and Managing Director Arnab Goswami has directed his legal team Phoenix Legal to initiate the proceedings to sue Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh for Rs 200 crore damages.
Earlier in the day, in a surprising turn of events, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who represented the Mumbai police, contradicting the Police Commissioner’s allegation against Republic TV admitted in Bombay HC that Republic TV is not named in the FIR in the TRP scam case. The Mumbai police seemed to distance itself from the allegations made by the Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh.