British-Pakistani businessman and property developer Aneel Mussarat has won a defamation case against Republic Bharat at the London High Court over allegations made by the channel’s lead anchor Arnab Goswami.
Musarrat had moved the London High Court against Republic TV after its controversial anchor Arnab Goswami had called the property developer a “stooge” of Pakistan’s top spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) during a show aired on July 22, 2020 in the UK.
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The London high court held that there was no evidence behind assertions that he was an “ISI stooge”. The British court has awarded legal costs of £37,500 to Mussarat and £10000 in damages. Mussarat had sought only token damages.
Goswami in his show also displayed Musarrat’s picture with Bollywood stars with caption: “Should Bollywood renounce any links with Pakistanis who take a pro-terrorist line?”
During the proceedings of the case, Worldview Media Network Limited, which holds the license to broadcast Republic Bharat TV in the UK, did not appear and the judgement by Deputy Master Toogood was announced in the absence of the defendant.
Reacting to the judgment, Musarrat told Pakistan’s Geo TV, “I have never worked for any spy agency. I have never been involved in any kind of terror or illegal act. In July 2020, at the beginning of Covid, Republic TV Channel and Arnab Goswami broadcasted multiple TV programmes defaming my character, alleging me of being an ISI agent and spreading terrorism in India. I applied to the Royal Court of justice for vindication. I am glad I have been vindicated and I am thankful to the British justice system.”