Overview
- The Bombay High Court, during Wednesday's hearing, told Republic TV and editor Arnab Goswami to "bring down the rhetoric" and stop using disparaging adjectives in coverage of Anil Ambani.
- Justice Milind Jadhav clarified he was not gagging the channel but said continued use of insulting language could prompt interim orders limiting broadcasts.
- The court sought an affidavit in reply from Republic TV and set the next hearing for April 16, asking the channel to refrain from the contested words until its response is filed.
- Ambani's defamation suit says the channel ran a smear campaign by linking him personally to Enforcement Directorate probes into Reliance Communications, Reliance Home Finance, and Reliance Commercial Finance, even though he left RCom’s board in November 2019 and had no day-to-day role.
- Senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani argued the broadcasts were true and amounted to fair comment, a claim the judge disputed at this stage, underscoring the ongoing court effort to balance press freedom with protection of reputation.