Karnataka High Court stays case against Arnab Goswami, Amit Malviya over claim that Congress party has office in Turkey

The Karnataka High Court on Thursday stayed a criminal case filed against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Malviya and Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami accusing them of spreading misinformation that the Indian National Congress (INC) has an office in Turkey's Istanbul..Justice S Rachiah passed the interim order this evening on petitions filed by Malviya and Goswami to quash the case against them. Malviya was also booked separately for posting an image of a face, half of which was that of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the other half was that of Pakistani Army chief Asim Munir. The caption for the image alluded to whether Gandhi was echoing Pakistan's narrative, following the success of India's cross-military response against Pakistan, Operation Sindoor. Malviya had questioned whether Gandhi was aiming for Nishan-e-Pakistan, the highest civilian honour conferred in Pakistan. Malviya has filed a petition to quash this case as well. The Court today stayed both cases till the next date of hearing. .The INC's complaint against Goswami and Malviya accused them "masterminding a heinous and criminally motivated campaign to disseminate patently false information" that the Istanbul Congress Centre in Türkiye is an INC office.INC claimed that this was meant to defame the party, incite public unrest and undermine national security and democratic integrity, against a volatile backdrop of strained relations between India and Türkiye over the latter's support for Pakistan in the aftermath of the Pahalgam Terror Attack and India's response, Operation Sindoor.It filed several complaints across India on the issue, including one in Karnataka..On May 20, Republic TV published a corrigendum over publishing an image of a building that it reportedly hinted was the Congress office in Turkey. The corrigendum said that an incorrect image was inadvertently used, depicting a building as the Congress office in Turkey, by a video editor on the digital desk. The statement added that it was a technical error.“The image had no connection to the content or context of the said video. This clip was not broadcast on Arnab Goswami’s debate show on 15th May 2025 or thereafter and was not taken on-air nor was the said erroneous image in any way related to the subject matter being discussed... The image had no connection to the content or context of the said video. This clip was not broadcast on Arnab Goswami’s debate show on 15th May 2025 or thereafter and was not taken on-air nor was the said erroneous image in any way related to the subject matter being discussed ... the inadvertent error occurred after the live show ended and was carried on the digital platform ... The moment it was brought to our attention, it was promptly rectified. We sincerely and unconditionally regret the error,” the channel is reported to have said further, according to reports..On May 21, an X post made on Amit Malviya's handle drew controversy. In this post, he said that while INC can file as many suits as it wants, it has not answered why the party "opened an office in Turkey in 2019" and that too "days after Turkey openly backed Pakistan at the UN on the Kashmir issue.”.Representing Goswami and Malviya, Senior Advocate Aruna Shyam argued that the complaints against them were politically motivated and baseless. .Among other arguments, he said that the complaint filed over Malviya's post with an edited photo of Gandhi initially cited the offence under Section 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which is a bailable offence.Shyam added that this was later tampered with when the police approached the jurisdictional magistrate, so that the offence of Section 353 of BNS was added. Section 353 deals with statements conducing to public mischief and is not a bailable offence."That is how politically, petitioners have been targeted," Shyam said.Shyam also questioned why Section 353 was invoked when the allegation is that he targeted INC leader Rahul Gandhi."(Gandhi) He is not an honorary person, he is opposition leader," Shyam said..The State's counsel countered that the accused have only been served notices, and that the investigation should be allowed to proceed. He added that the State does not intend to make any arrests, but urged the Court not to stay the investigation."We have only issued a notice. Let them cooperate with the investigation. We will see information has been disseminated, and what context," he said..Senior Advocate Aruna Shyam and Prabhuling Navadgi represented Goswami..Goswami's petition was filed through Advocate Mahesh Arkalgud Srikant of ATV Legal Advocates & Solicitors. Malviya's petitions were filed through Advocate Suyog Herele E of Aruna Shyam Associates. .[Read Order]