NEW DELHI: The hearing of Arnab Goswami’s  habeas corpus petition in connection to the 2018 abetment to suicide case has been further deferred to Saturday, 7 November 2020 in lieu of paucity of time.

The Republic TV editor-in-chief will have to face a third night in custody and wait for the special hearing at noon tomorrow.

The bench comprising of Justice SS Shinde and MS Karnik said that it will hear the state government and complainant Adnya Naik, the daughter of deceased Anvay Naik, who in his suicide note named Arnab Goswami as one of the people responsible for his decision to end his life. 

There are two more petitions filed by the two other accused in the 2018 case and the bench said they “will also be heard.”

Goswami was arrested from his Mumbai home on the morning of 4 November, following which he was remanded in 14-day judicial custody. 

Goswami had moved the Supreme Court stating that his arrest was illegal and the decisively closed case was reopened “with the sole purpose of misusing power, concocting facts and forcefully arresting the petitioner in a prima facie act of revenge and vengeance for his news coverage which questioned those in power in the state of Maharashtra.”

The first hearing of the plea took place on Thursday, wherein Goswami was denied interim relief by the court before hearing all the parties. 

Later in the day, CJIM Alibaug stated that Goswami’s arrest was “illegal” as “victim’s death was not clearly connected with the accused.”

The order said, “The investigating officer on 15 October 2020 only submitted a report to the magistrate informing that certain fresh material has come to the fore in the case. There is no record to show that the magistrate permitted reopening of the case.”