The Bombay High Court on Saturday reserved its order in the habeas corpus and the interim bail plea of Arnab Goswami in an abetment to suicide case.
The Bench of Justices SS Shinde and MS Karnik refused to grant Goswami interim bail, noting that its order should not be construed as an impediment to the journalist to approach the Sessions Court for bail under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), Bar and Bench reported.
However, the court allowed Goswami to apply for a bail plea in a lower court.
“If such lower court is approached for bail, it shall decide the matter within four days,” the High Court further said.
The court said that Goswami’s plea for quashing his bail plea will next be heard on December 10, TOI reported.
The news anchor was arrested on Wednesday morning in connection with a 2018 abetment to suicide case of interior designer Anvay Naik and his mother Kumud Naik.
Naik had named Goswami and two others in his suicide note alleging that they had failed to pay up money owed for the work done by Naik’s company.
He was taken to the Alibaug police station and later produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Sunaina Pingle.
Passing the order late on Wednesday night, the magistrate refused to remand Goswami in police custody and sent him to judicial custody till November 18.
The Alibaug police had sought 14- day- custody of Goswami for interrogation.
Goswami is presently kept at a local school, which has been designated as a Covid-19 centre for the Alibaug prison.