According to the lawyer of ex-NDTV promoter Prannoy Roy, he will await instructions, whereas the counsel representing Arnab Goswami, Editor-in-Chief of Republic TV, informed the Delhi High Court that he intends to offer an unconditional apology in a contempt case brought by the deceased environmentalist and former head of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), R.K. Pachauri.
In February 2016, Pachauri filed a petition for contempt of court, accusing multiple media outlets of intentionally and disrespectfully disregarding the court’s directives, which limited them from publicizing allegations of sexual harassment made against him.
Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora noted in his ruling, “The counsel for the respondent No. 5 (Arnab Goswami) states that she as well will file an affidavit tendering unconditional apology within a period of one (1) week. It is ordered accordingly.”
In the same case, The Economic Times and its Senior Assistant Editor, Raghav Ohri, have already issued an unconditional apology. Justice Arora directed, “The learned counsel for the Respondent Nos. 2 (Economic Times) and 3 (Ohri) states that he has filed an affidavit on behalf of Respondent Nos. 2 and 3, tendering their unconditional apology. Let the same be brought on record within a period of three (3) days.”
Pachauri had alleged that he was being unfairly targeted by the media and that the articles published by these publications were not only defamatory but also biased against him, undermining his case.
Following allegations of sexual harassment by a colleague during his tenure as the head of TERI, Pachauri was accused of the offense. However, Pachauri passed away in 2020.