The Supreme Court today reserved its order on Arnab Goswami’s plea seeking the transfer of the Mumbai police’s FIR against him for allegedly communalising a gathering of migrants in Bandra to the CBI. To the Republic TV editor’s plea to quash the case, the apex court told him to approach the Bombay High Court.

The top court, however, extended the interim protection from arrest it had granted Goswami on April 24.

The FIR was filed on May 4 by Irfan Abubakar Shaikh, secretary of the Raza Educational Welfare Society. It accused Goswami of communalising the Bandra gathering and trying to "create hatred" against Muslims.

In his petition seeking the quashing of the FIR, Goswami had called it "politically motivated" and "patently false, vindictive, frivolous, malicious and precipitated with malice".

Appearing for Goswami, senior advocate Harish Salve claimed that the Mumbai police’s investigation against the anchor was meant to harass him for asking “unpleasant questions”, Live Law reported. Questioning the police’s neutrality, he asked for the matter to be transferred to the CBI.

Kapil Sibal, appearing for Maharashtra, objected to this, saying transferring the case to the CBI would mean "investigation will go into your hands”, meaning the central government, the Live Law report added.

After hearing the arguments, the court indicated that it will pronounce its judgement on the matter before Friday.

To Goswami’s prayer that the FIR be quashed, the apex court said orally, "If you want the quashing of this FIR, the Bombay one and the new one, then you can move the HC. We had earlier intervened due to the multiplicity of the FIRs arising out of the same cause of action,” according to Live Law.

Previously, over a hundred FIRs had been filed against Goswami after he linked Congress chief Sonia Gandhi with the lynching of three Hindu sadhus in Palghar, Maharashtra. Goswami had challenged the FIRs in the apex court, which stayed them all except the one filed at Nagpur’s Sadar police station which it transferred for investigation to Mumbai.

If you are wondering what exactly Goswami said on his April 14 show about the Bandra migrants, watch this episode of TV Newsance.

The media must be fair and free. That’s why you should pay to keep news free. For when the public pays, the public is served and when the advertiser pays, the advertiser is served. Support independent media by subscribing to Newslaundry today.