Arnab Goswami says ready to offer unconditional apology in contempt case
text_fields
New Delhi: Arnab Goswami, the editor-in-chief of Republic TV, has informed the Delhi High Court that he intends to submit an affidavit containing an unconditional apology in the 2016 contempt case initiated by R K Pachauri, the former executive vice-chairman of The Energy and Resources Institute, against several media channels.
During a court hearing on April 17th, senior advocate Malvika Trivedi, representing Arnab Goswami who was associated with Times Now in 2016, informed a single judge bench of Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora that she too would submit an affidavit with an unconditional apology within a week.
The case was filed against certain media channels, including Goswami's former employer, Times Now, for allegedly disobeying court orders restricting them from publishing claims against Pachauri pertaining to sexual harassment allegations.
Pachauri, who passed away in 2020, had claimed that the media houses were subjecting him to an "unfair and illegal media trial" and that the reports were defamatory and prejudicial. However, in May 2022, a Delhi court ruled that no stigma could be attached to Pachauri in the alleged sexual harassment case lodged against him by a former colleague as the prosecution could not prove its case before his death.
Pachauri's son had filed an application seeking leave to continue the revision petition against an order to put him on trial in the case. His lawyer had argued that the allegations made in the complaint had caused stigma on the impeccable reputation of his late father and had caused irreparable loss to the family. However, the court dismissed the application, stating that the prosecution could not prove its case against Pachauri, and therefore, there could be no stigma on the deceased.
The unconditional apologies from Goswami and Trivedi are expected to be submitted in the coming days. It remains to be seen if former NDTV promoter Prannoy Roy, who is also involved in the case, will tender an apology as well.