The leaking of these messages led to widespread condemnation of Goswami and Dasgupta, both for alleged corrupt practices as well as for several comments attributed to them. The News Broadcasters' Association publicly called for the expulsion of Republic TV from the Indian Broadcasting Foundation, pointing to Goswami's messages as a reason. On the basis of these leaked messages, there have also been several calls for legal action against Goswami as one of the messages attributed to him allegedly indicates that he had access to privileged information concerning the 2019 Balakot airstrike before it was in the public domain, and that he had shared this privileged information with Dasgupta. On 20 January 2021, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh stated that he was considering initiating legal action against Goswami for violating the Official Secrets Act 1923. On 27 January 2021, Congress leaders filed a criminal complaint against Goswami in Mumbai, alleging violations of the Official Secrets Act. Following criticism from Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, on 18 January 2021, Goswami released a statement accusing Pakistan of engaging in a conspiracy against Republic TV and himself, and also stating that the information concerning the 2019 Balakot airstrike was "...an officially stated position."