NEW DELHI: In a major relief to Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami, the Supreme Court has granted him interim bail in a 2018 case of abetment to suicide of interior designer Anvay Naik and his mother. The top court also allowed the interim release of the co-accused Neetish Sarda and Firoze Mohammed Sheikh.

The accused are required to execute a personal bond for an amount of Rs 50,000 for release on interim bail. They have also been directed to cooperate with the investigation and should not interfere with the witnesses. 

A vacation bench comprising justices D Y Chandrachud and Indira Banerjee passed the order after an urgent hearing given to the pleas challenging the order of the Bombay high court, which denied the accused interim bail in the habeas corpus petitions filed by them challenging their ‘illegal’ custody. 

The Supreme Court stated that the Bombay HC was in error in rejecting the application for grant of interim bail and failed to exercise its jurisdiction to protect the personal liberty of a citizen. 

"If this court does not interfere today, we are travelling on the path of destruction. Forget this man. You may not like his ideology. Left to myself, I will not watch his channel. Keep aside everything. If this is what our state governments are going to do to people who are to be nailed, then the Supreme Court has to intervene. There has to be a message to HCs- Please exercise your jurisdiction to uphold personal liberty. We are seeing case after case. HCs are failing to exercise jurisdiction. People are in jail for tweets," justice Chandrachud remarked.

Goswami was arrested from his Mumbai residence on 4 November and was sent to 14-day judicial custody.