Complaint filed against Arnab Goswami under Cable Act
Guwahati – A Pune-based social Activist Nilesh Navlakha filed a criminal complaint against Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami last 8th May under the Cable Televisions Network (Regulation) Act, 1995 for stirring up communal hatred and divide on his news channel.
Copies of the complaint were submitted to Pune police commissioner K Venkatesham and district collector Naval Kishore Ram.
Navlakha also levied allegations against ARG Outlier Media — the company that owns and operates Republic, in which Goswami holds 82 percent stake — for conducting shows that promote religious polarisation and communal hate.
The 14-page complaint stated that the “cause of action” for the complaint was Goswami’s primetime shows on the Palghar lynchings. Goswami had launched a communal tirade on his show, even accusing Congress chief Sonia Gandhi of getting the two Hindu sadhus murdered in Palghar in April. However, the complaint said it isn’t “restricted” to Goswami’s reporting on Palghar; it takes into consideration various debates helmed by Goswami on Republic TV and Republic Bharat.
Navlakha also accused Goswami and Republic of “brainwashing” listeners and viewers “in a way that they will transform into haters of some community and religion”. The complaint said: “This is not less than running an organized crime syndicate of making human minds to follow the thought process of a fanatic terrorist.”
The complaint pointed out six videos anchored by Goswami on Republic. Four aired on April 20 and are about the Palghar lynching. See the videos here, here, here, here, here and here.
It also said that even Sachin Tendulkar had been dubbed “anti-national” on one of Goswami’s shows.