In Brief
Arnab Goswami, Editor-in-Chief of Republic TV, was arrested in connection with a 2018 FIR under Sections 306 and 34 of the IPC (abetment of suicide), based on a suicide note allegedly implicating him for non-payment of dues. The High Court declined interim bail, relegating him to Section 439 remedies. The Supreme Court held that the High Court must prima facie evaluate whether allegations disclose an offence when considering Section 482 petitions, and cannot abdicate this duty. Finding no prima facie case of abetment (as the FIR disclosed only a commercial dispute without proximate incitement to suicide), the Court ordered release on bail, reaffirming that bail, not jail, is the default rule and courts must guard against weaponization of criminal law.
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