The Delhi High Court on Friday sought a response from journalist Arnab Goswami and his channel Republic TV on Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s plea to refrain from “misreporting” his wife Sunanda Pushkar’s death and asked them to respect his “right to silence”.
Justice Manmohan issued notice to Mr. Goswami and Republic TV after Mr. Tharoor alleged that they continued to engage in “defaming and maligning” him despite an assurance given in the court on May 29 by their counsel.
Taking note of this, the Bench said, “You [Goswami and the channel] have to respect Tharoor’s right to silence.”
Senior advocate Salman Khurshid, appearing for Mr. Tharoor, submitted that the court must direct Mr. Goswami and the channel to not mention the expression “murder of Sunanda Pushkar”, as it is yet to be established by a competent court that her death was “murder”, to ensure the trial was not prejudiced.
Senior advocate Sandeep Sethi, appearing for Mr. Goswami and the channel, said they have only placed the actual evidence and the police report while broadcasting the news. “We have not called him a murderer in any of the news broadcasts on the channel,” he said.
The judge, however, said orally that he had asked counsel who had promised that names would not be taken. “They will have to abide by that,” he said.
Mr. Sethi replied, “My client stands by what was assured by me.”
The court has now fixed the matter for further hearing on August 16.
The court was hearing an application moved by Mr. Tharoor in his pending Rs 2 crore defamation suit against Mr. Goswami and the channel for allegedly making defamatory remarks against him while airing news relating to the mysterious death of his wife.
Sunanda Pushkar was found dead in a suite of a five-star hotel in south Delhi on the night of January 17, 2014. The matter is still under investigation.
