Karnataka High Court Stays Criminal Case Against Arnab Goswami, Amit Malviya Over Alleged Misinformation on Congress Office in Turkey
(Syed Ali Taher Abedi)
Bengaluru, May 22, 2025 – The Karnataka High Court on Thursday granted an interim stay on criminal proceedings against Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) IT cell head Amit Malviya and Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami. The duo had filed petitions seeking to quash cases filed against them for allegedly disseminating false information that the Indian National Congress (INC) has an office in Istanbul, Turkey.
Justice S. Rachaiah passed the interim order while hearing petitions filed by both Malviya and Goswami. The case raised from a viral claim—widely circulated in media and on social platforms—that linked the INC to a Turkish building portrayed as its foreign office.
The Controversial Claims
Malviya and Goswami stand accused of masterminding what the Congress party has described as a “deliberate, politically motivated misinformation campaign.” The INC alleges that the purpose of these claims was to malign the party, provoke public unrest, and undermine national security at a time when India-Turkey diplomatic ties were already tense due to Ankara’s support for Pakistan at the UN following the Pahalgam terror attack.
Adding fuel to the controversy, Malviya separately posted an image showing a morphed split photo—one half depicting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the other half showing Pakistan’s Army Chief Asim Munir. The caption implied that Gandhi was allegedly echoing a pro-Pakistan narrative, questioning whether he was “aiming for Nishan-e-Pakistan,” Pakistan’s highest civilian honour.
Legal Battle and Défense
Malviya has filed a second petition to quash this related case as well. Both matters are now stayed until the next date of hearing.
Representing Malviya, senior advocate Aruna Shyam argued that the complaints were “politically motivated and baseless.” Shyam highlighted procedural irregularities, noting that the initial complaint invoked only a bailable offense under Section 352 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), dealing with intentional insult. However, after police intervention, more serious and non-bailable charges under Section 353 (statements conducing to public mischief) were added.
Shyam further questioned how Section 353 was applicable when the alleged target of the post was an individual—Rahul Gandhi—not the public at large.
The state’s counsel countered that the investigation was still in a preliminary stage and emphasized that no arrests were planned. “We are only seeking to examine the context and spread of the information,” the counsel said, urging the court not to halt the probe entirely.
Republic TV Issues Corrigendum
On May 20, Republic TV issued a public corrigendum, acknowledging that a video clip had mistakenly shown an image identified as the INC’s office in Turkey. The channel claimed it was a “technical error” by a digital editor and clarified that the video was never aired on Arnab Goswami’s debate show. The image, they asserted, was “inadvertently used” and bore “no connection to the content or context of the video.” The error was rectified immediately once discovered, the statement added.
Background of the Incident
On May 21, Malviya reignited the controversy by tweeting that the Congress could file as many cases as it liked, but had still not explained why it opened a purported office in Turkey in 2019—just two days after Turkey vocally backed Pakistan on the Kashmir issue at the UN.
The Congress party, in its formal complaint, argued that the misinformation was strategically timed to incite nationalist outrage and erode its credibility amid a politically sensitive environment.
Next Steps
The court has stayed both cases against Goswami and Malviya for now. Further hearings are expected to determine whether the cases will proceed or be quashed based on the legal merits and political context.
