Bombay High Court Cautions Republic TV Against Defamatory and Sensationalised Reporting in Anil Ambani Coverage

On Wednesday, the Bombay High Court advised Republic TV and its editor-in-chief, Arnab Goswami, to exercise restraint in reporting related to Anil Ambani in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation. A single bench of Justice Milind Jadhav orally said that while presenting the news, exaggerated adjectives or such language should not be used, which could be seen as a personal comment against any person. The Court also mentioned that while discharging the responsibility of journalism, factual reporting is possible without using derogatory words.

This comment was made during the hearing of the defamation suit filed by industrialist Anil Ambani. The petition said that the channel, in news related to the Enforcement Directorate proceedings, linked him to the cases of the companies Reliance Communications (RCom), Reliance Home Finance Ltd, and Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd, which he had founded but from which he had later separated. Ambani noted that he had resigned as non-executive director of Reliance Communications in November 2019 and thereafter did not hold any executive or managerial roles in the respective companies, yet the broadcast linked him to serious allegations, which damaged his reputation.

During the hearing, senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, appearing for Goswami, argued that the comments circulated fall under the category of fair comment, and some other entities have also used similar language. On the other hand, advocate Mayur Khandeparkar, appearing for Ambani, said that in the last week of February, a campaign was launched by the channel against his client, and objectionable words were used in the broadcast. On this, the court said that it is appropriate to give news, but it is necessary to avoid personally attacking language, and the media should maintain restraint.

The court clarified that it is not imposing any restrictions on the media, and it is necessary for the public to get information, but decorum should be followed in reporting. After Goswami gave assurance of refraining from using such words in future, the court directed the channel to file a formal reply and adjourned the next hearing of the case till April 16.