New Delhi: In a huge victory for the Republic Media Network and Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami, the Delhi High Court has refused to grant a decree of permanent injunction to Times Now on the use of the phrase by Arnab Goswami and the Republic Media Network.
The Honorable Delhi High Court in its 43-page order held, “Regarding the tagline Nation Wants To Know”, no interim order is passed at this stage in favor of the plaintiff ( Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd ). As submitted by the learned counsel for the plaintiff, defendant No. 2 (Arnab Goswami) is free to use the same as part of his speech/presentation of any news channel, etc.”
Delhi High Court’s order comes as a massive boost for the Republic Media Network. A statement issued by Republic Media Network said, “We thank the people of India for standing by Arnab Goswami and his team to claim his right to use the phrase he once coined. The phrase itself is at the core of the founding philosophy of the Republic Media Network which puts the people of India first and above all at every step and juncture.”
“We endeavor and persevere to continue to raise questions on behalf of the nation, to ensure accountability and do our duty as the fourth pillar of democracy, fearlessly.” added the statement.
However, The single Judge Bench of Justice Jayant Nath, has granted partial relief to Times Now by restraining Republic TV from using the trademark ‘News Hour’ or any other mark that may be deceptively similar to it. The clash between the Times Group and Republic Network over these has its origin in Anchor Editor Arnab Goswami’s exit from Times Now in 2016 to set up his own venture ARG Outlier Media Ltd of which the Republic Network is a product.