In win for Republic, court dismisses Mumbai DCP's defamation case against Arnab Goswami

In another massive victory for Republic Media Network, a Mumbai sessions court has dismissed the defamation case filed by Deputy Commissioner of Mumbai Police (DCP) Abhishek Trimukhe as his plea was not maintainable. DCP Trimukhe had filed the defamation case against Republic's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami in February 2021 over Republic TV's coverage linked to the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput. The case had initially been investigated by the Mumbai Police but was since handed over to the CBI by the Supreme Court after the Patna police registered a FIR but were essentially blocked from investigating the case when a team came to Mumbai. 

Sushant Singh Rajput death 

The case of Sushant Singh Rajput, who was found dead at his residence in Mumbai on June 14, turned into a major controversy, and the CBI is still investigating it as per the agency's latest update in end-December 2020. Not only were numerous loopholes pointed out in the initial investigation by Mumbai Police but also numerous investigative reports by Republic TV had exposed the possibility of a link with the alleged suicide of Sushant's manager Disha Salian just a week earlier.

With the Mumbai police not registering a FIR, SSR’s family had approached the Patna Police and registered a First Information Report naming Sushant's girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty and alleging abetment to suicide, embezzlement and more. 

The CBI was ordered by Supreme Court to take over the case on August 19, after the Bihar government made a recommendation for it, after stating that their attempts to probe the case in Mumbai were thwarted. The CBI recently informed Member of Parliament Subramanian Swamy that the investigation was underway and that no angle was ruled out. The case also came to involve other agencies, with the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and ED also investigating the case.