Mumbai DCP files defamation complaint against Arnab Goswami, wife

Mumbai Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Abhishek Trimukhe on Wednesday filed a criminal complaint against Republic TV editor-in-chief and owner Arnab Goswami and his wife Samyabrata before the City Civil and Sessions Court, alleging defamatory attacks in connection with the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

It further claimed that these defamatory statements were telecast on the channel Republic Bharat during a discussion about phone records of actor Rhea Chakraborty.

"The said defamatory attacks have been made with a singular view of assassinating his (Trimukhe's) official character and thereby...maliciously and deliberately causing undue humiliation of the Mumbai Police Department," the complaint said.

Goswami also tweeted the contents of the telecast to a larger audience, the complaint further alleged.

The plea, submitted by 2007 batch officer Abhishek Trimukhe, deputy commissioner of police (zone lX), urged the sessions court to take cognisance of offences relating to defamation and common intention and direct the accused to pay compensation and litigation costs.

Referring to Arnab Goswami, the plea said freedom of speech and expression and freedom of press was not an absolute right and “was clothed with a sense of responsibility which the accused is duly accountable in law when he strays as a habitual offender.”

It said the accused have “cunningly hidden behind the “nation wants to know” rhetoric to make their statements and get away from consequences of their wrongdoing.” Trimukhe had been granted sanction for the complaint by the state home department on October 23.

As per a report in the Times of India, the complaint alleges that defamatory remarks were made by the journalist against the Mumbai Police official.

It may be recalled that Rajput was found dead in his Bandra apartment on June 14 last year. It was initially alleged that he had committed suicide but the probe later started to focus on the murder angle following a number of twists and turns in the case.