Arnab Goswami was arrested on November 4, 2020, in an abetment to suicide case. Advocate Harish Salve appearing for Arnab Goswami filed an application for ad-interim bail and a petition of Habeas Corpus. The Bombay High Court comprising the bench of Justices SS Shinde and MS Karnik held the session for six hours on November 7, 2020 and reserved its order on the application.
The court held that it will give orders in this coming week and if during this waiting period the petitioner wishes to file the application in the Session court, it can do so on a condition that such court will have to give its order within 4 days.
Meanwhile, Senior Advocate Amit Desai appearing for the government of Maharashtra held that the writ of Habeas Corpus will not be maintained as the order of custody was passed by the magistrate and it was not unlawful custody. He stated that though the writ is not maintainable against the judicial order the petitioner can have some alternative remedies which cannot be obstructed.
Also, the petitioner had raised its objection to the illegal arrest and not illegal detention and arrest are different from detention and hence the application for bail is not maintainable.
