The Karnataka High Court has quashed a criminal case against Republic TV Editor Arnab Goswami and BJP leader Amit Malviya for their false claims regarding the Congress having an office in Istanbul. The Bengaluru Police had registered an FIR under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot and intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace.
On Friday, Justice M Nagaprasanna of the Karnataka High Court quashed a criminal case registered against former Republic TV Editor Arnab Goswami and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Malviya for their claims that the Congress has an office in Istanbul. The petitions were filed by both individuals seeking to quash the first information report (FIR) against them.
According to Bar and Bench, on May 15, 2025, during a news segment on Republic TV, Arnab Goswami falsely claimed that the Istanbul Congress Center is an office of the Indian National Congress. The building shown in the show was actually a convention centre owned by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, as reported by Alt News.
Amit Malviya shared a video on May 17, 2025, asking why the Congress had a registered office in Turkey. He posted on social media, 'Did you know that the Congress Party has a registered office in Turkey? Can Rahul Gandhi explain what necessitated this move? This is bizarre and inexplicable on multiple levels. India deserves to know.'
The Bengaluru Police had booked Goswami and Malviya on a separate complaint by an Indian Youth Congress leader. The FIR was registered under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot and intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace. The complainant had alleged that the claim was made ‘with clear and undeniable criminal intent to deceive the Indian public’, defame the party, manipulate nationalist sentiments and undermine national security and democratic integrity’.
However, Republic TV said in May 2025 that the image used during the news segment was a result of a ‘technical error’ by a video editor on the digital desk.
Although the Congress had announced plans in 2019 to open an overseas office in Istanbul and appointed Mohammad Yusuf Khan to lead it, there have been no updates since, and Turkey is not listed on the Indian Overseas Congress website, as reported by Alt News in May 2025.
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