The Bombay High Court on Thursday verbally told Republic TV and its editor Arnab Goswami not to add any “embellishments” while reporting about the financial transactions and the ongoing investigations against businessperson Anil Ambani, Live Law reported.

Justice Arif Doctor did not pass a gag order against the news channel but asked Goswami to tone down the tenor of his reporting against Ambani.

While no one can be stopped from reporting on legal proceedings, it must be confined to facts emerging from court orders and records, the judge said.

Ambani had in March filed a defamation suit against Republic TV and Goswami claiming that the reports on the news channel about his financial transactions caused irreparable damage to his reputation.

His petition sought a temporary injunction against ARG Outlier, the parent company of Republic TV, Goswami and other unknown entities.

At an earlier hearing, the judge had asked Republic TV and Goswami to reduce the rhetoric in his reporting, Bar and Bench reported. The court had also refused to curb the news channel from reporting Ambani, but said that it should not publish “below-the-belt” news.

On Thursday, advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, representing Republic TV, said that the news channel’s reporting fell within the confines of “fair comment”.

If the businessperson provides a list of comments made by Republic TV to which he has objections, they could be reconsidered if the news channel feels that such remarks were truly offensive, the advocate added.

During the proceedings, the judge also drew a line between factual reportage and commentary that rouses interest in a case, Bar and Bench reported.

“Public interest in knowing is one thing,” the legal news portal quoted the judge as saying. “Can you evoke and rouse their interest by adding embellishments is another.”

The judge also noted that the dispute could be settled and was “imminently resolvable”.

Declining to pass a restraint order, the judge listed the matter for further hearing on April 29.

The suit

In his suit, Ambani claimed that he is aggrieved by articles authored and published by the defendants, and circulated through their news channels and social media platforms, Live Law reported.

The allegedly “offending publications and offending statements” claim to report on the regulatory proceedings initiated by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with Reliance Communications Limited, Reliance Home Finance Limited and Reliance Commercial Finance Limited, the suit was quoted as saying.

The suit added that Republic TV and Goswami were aware that Ambani had ceased to be the non-executive director of Reliance Communications Limited in November 2019 and never held any managerial or operational position in either of the companies, Live Law reported.

“The companies were distinct entities, and the applicant was not involved in the day-to-day management and decision-making operations of the companies,” the legal news portal quoted the suit as saying.

It added: “Despite knowing these facts, the defendants have chosen to maliciously, falsely and irresponsibly impute a libelous/slanderous/damaging personal connection between the allegations under investigation with respect to the companies and the applicant.”

Ambani stated in his suit that the defendants had repeatedly, through their publications, falsely portrayed him as being personally responsible for the alleged financial misconduct, including by using sensationalised headlines, allegedly defamatory commentary and allegedly derogatory insinuations, Live Law reported.