The Karnataka High Court has set aside the case against Republic Media Network’s Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami, ruling that it lacked any legal basis.

Justice M. Nagaprasanna, presiding over the bench, found the allegations unfounded and held that continuing the investigation would constitute an abuse of legal process.

During the hearing, the court posed a direct question: "What offence has the petitioner committed?" With no satisfactory response from the prosecution, the bench concluded that Goswami was being targeted solely because of his identity.

The case stemmed from a complaint filed by Ravindra M.V., a Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee member, against Goswami and Republic Kannada's executive editor. The complaint alleged that Republic Kannada had aired a misleading report claiming an ambulance was delayed in Bengaluru due to the Chief Minister’s convoy—an assertion refuted by authorities. An FIR was subsequently registered under Section 505(2) of the IPC, which penalizes statements promoting enmity or ill-will between communities.

However, the high court found that the allegations failed to satisfy the essential elements of Section 505(2). The provision applies to statements inciting enmity between communities, whereas the disputed report pertained only to a traffic situation. The court further held that even if the report was false, it did not amount to an offence under the charged section.

Justice Nagaprasanna also noted that Goswami, as a media house director, was not responsible for Republic Kannada’s daily editorial decisions. The court criticized his inclusion in the FIR, suggesting that the complaint was motivated by extraneous considerations rather than legal grounds.

"This case is a classic example of dragging the petitioner merely to settle other scores. The complaint exhibits recklessness from its inception," the judge remarked.

Citing Supreme Court precedents, including Bilal Ahmed Kaloo v. State of Andhra Pradesh (1997) and Manzar Sayeed Khan v. State of Maharashtra (2007), the court reaffirmed that the publication of allegedly false news does not constitute a criminal offence unless it incites hatred between groups.

Case Title: Arnab Goswami v. State of Karnataka & Another