After a harrowing six-hour long hearing and despite the fervent pleas made by senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami, a division bench of the Bombay High Court refused to grant Goswami interim bail today.
The bench comprising Justices SS Shinde and MS Karnik reserved their orders on the interim applications filed by Goswami and other accused that sought ad interim release from custody in the 2018 abetment to suicide case.
Requesting the court to grant relief to his client Goswami, Salve argued that the powers of a high court under Article 226 of the Constitution are at par with the powers of the Supreme Court under Article 32.
Refusing to entertain Salve’s pleas, Justice Shinde said, "We can't pass order today. It is already six.”
However, the bench pointed out that its order should not be interpreted as an impediment for Goswami to approach the sessions court for bail under Section 439 of the CrPC. The court further added that if a sessions court is approached, it should decide on the matter within four days.
The court also heard advocates Vijay Agarwal and Nikhil Mengde for MS Shaikh and Praveen Rajesh Singh, the other two co-accused in the matter.
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