The Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) of the Mumbai Police on Tuesday filed a third chargesheet before a magistrate #39;s court here in the alleged fake Television Ratings Points (TRP) scam.
Tag: TRP Scam
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Bombay HC extends interim relief for Arnab Goswami in suicide abetment case
By PTI
MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Friday extended its earlier order granting interim protection to Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami and exempted him from appearing before a magistrates court at Alibag in Raigad district in connection with an abetment to suicide case.Goswami and two others Firoze Sheikh and Nitish Sarda are accused of abetting the suicide of Alibag-based interior designer Anvay Naik in May 2018 over alleged non- payment of dues by the companies of the accused persons.
The trio has moved the high court seeking to quash the FIR and subsequent chargesheet filed by the police against them.
They had sought interim protection and exemption from appearance before a magistrates court in Alibag, a coastal town in Raigad district located around 100km from Mumbai.
The accused persons have to appear before the magistrates court for committal of trial in the case to a sessions court.
The high court had on March 5 granted the three accused persons exemption from appearance before the court and said it would hear the petitions on April 16.
Goswamis counsel Sanjog Parab on Friday told the court that since April 16 has been declared as a holiday by the high court, the petitions could be heard later.
The interim order granting the petitioner (Goswami) exemption may be extended as the next date before the magistrate is April 26, Parab said.
A division bench of Justices S S Shinde and Manish Pitale agreed and said it would hear the petitions on April 23.
Accordingly, we extend the interim relief of exemption from appearance until further orders, the court said.
Goswami and the other two accused were arrested on November 4, 2020.
After the arrest, they had sought urgent bail from the high court which rejected their pleas following which they moved the Supreme Court.
The apex court granted the trio bail on November 11, 2020.
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TRP scam: Give prior notice of 3 days before arresting Arnab, says HC
By PTI
MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday directed the Mumbai Police to give the advance notice of three days to Republic TV’s editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami if it wanted to arrest him in the Television Rating Point (TRP) scam case.A bench of Justices SS Shinde and Manish Pitale also accepted the statement made by the Maharashtra government that the probe against Republic TV, other employees of ARG Outlier Media which runs all Republic TV channels, and other television channels, will be completed within 12 weeks.
The court was hearing a bunch of pleas filed by Goswami and ARG media seeking several reliefs in the case.
The petitioners had claimed the crime branch of the Mumbai police had no evidence against them but it was prolonging the probe by merely naming them as suspects in the chargesheet.
In the last hearing on Monday, the HC told the police that it could not go on investigating for months without naming someone as accused in a case.
Citing the material on record, the HC felt that the police did not have anything substantial against Goswami in the case.
The petitioners’ counsel Ashok Mundargi had urged the high court to protect Goswami and other ARG employees named as suspects in the chargesheet from any coercive action till the time the probe is on.
On Wednesday, while the bench directed the police to give a prior notice of three days to Goswami if it chose to summon or arrest him in the case, it said such relief cannot be granted to several unnamed employees in the petition, who were merely suspects and not accused.
The HC said Mundargi’s request for a stay on the investigation could not be granted as there was “no clarity on who was the accused and who was not”.
“If during the course of the investigation, you come across something and you want to take coercive action against petitioner number 2, then you will give 72 hours’ prior notice (to Goswami),” the bench said.
The HC will continue hearing the arguments on June 28.
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Why Mumbai police held press conference over TRP scam? Asks Bombay HC
By PTI
MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday asked what had prompted the Mumbai police to hold a press conference last year over the alleged Television Rating Points (TRP) scam.“Does the police have an obligation to interact with the press? Why did the commissioner (of police) have to speak to the press?” a bench of Justices SS Shinde and Manish Pitale asked.
The court was hearing pleas filed by ARG Outlier Media Pvt Ltd, the company that owns Republic TV channels, and by journalist Arnab Goswami, seeking, among other reliefs, that the Mumbai police’s probe into the TRP scam be transferred to the CBI or any other independent agency.
The bench was responding to the arguments made by the ARG Outlier Media’s counsel, senior advocate Ashok Mundargi.
Mundargi told the high court that the police had malafide intentions behind holding the press conference in October last year.
He also said there was no evidence against Republic TV and its Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami, but the police were trying to name them as accused “by hook or by crook”.
“The police were feeding the press that a particular scam took place. This points out that there was not sufficient material to say whatever was being said,” Mundargi argued.
He also said the police had arrested some employees of the ARG Outlier Media and named them as accused persons in their remand applications.
However, in the charge sheet, the police had named the channel and ARG Outlier Media’s employees merely as suspects, he said.
Mundargi also said that Sachin Waze, who had been handling the probe into the alleged scam, and who is now suspended over his alleged involvement in another case, was a controversial officer.
“The investigation has taken a peculiar angle. In the charge sheet they are suspects, they are arrested and then they are shown as wanted accused,” Mundargi said.
“The officer (Waze) is also very controversial. This is the chain of events,” he said.
The HC will continue hearing the final arguments in the case on Wednesday. The Maharashtra government’s statement made earlier this month to refrain from taking any coercive action against Goswami and the ARG Outlier Media’s employees will continue till then.
The ARG Outlier Media and Goswami approached the HC last year filing a bunch of petitions seeking several reliefs in the TRP scam.
They alleged that the whole case was malafide and they had been targeted for Republic TV’s reportage in connection with the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput and the Palghar lynching case last year.
The Mumbai police in January this year filed two affidavits in the TRP case through Commissioner of Police Param Bir Singh and ACP Shashank Sandbhor of the crime branch, saying they had not targeted the Republic TV or its employees.
The police said their probe into the case was not a result of any political vendetta and there was evidence to show that Goswami had connived with senior officials of the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) to rig the TRP of Republic TV.
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No information on leak of WhatsApp chat on Article 370 scrapping: Government to Lok Sabha
A 500-page transcript of a purported WhatsApp conversation, containing details of Balakot air strikes and abrogation of Article 370, went viral in January this year
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Arnab Goswami gets exemption from appearance in suicide abetment case
By PTI
MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Friday granted interim exemption to TV journalist Arnab Goswami from appearing before a magistrates court at Alibaug in adjoining Raigad district in connection with an abetment to suicide case.The relief has been granted till April 16.
Goswami, the Republic TV Editor-in-Chief, and two others are accused of abetting the suicide of Alibaug-based interior designer Anvay Naik, who killed himself in 2018 over alleged non-payment of dues by the companies of the accused.
They were arrested on November 4, 2020.
The accused failed to get relief from the HC after which they approached the Supreme Court which granted them bail on November 11.
On Friday, Goswamis advocate Sanjog Parab told a division bench of Justices S S Shinde and Manish Pitale his client has been directed to appear before the Chief Judicial Magistrate at Alibaug, a coastal town 100km from Mumbai, on March 10 for committal of the trial in the case to a sessions court.
The HC was hearing a petition filed by Goswami challenging the FIR lodged against him by the Raigad police in the case and the subsequent chargesheet submitted in the local court.
The 47-year-old journalist, who has denied charges levelled against him in the case, has sought the HC to quash the FIR.
Parab sought the HC to grant Goswami exemption from appearance in the local court.
Since we are seized of the matter, we grant the petitioner (Goswami) protection with regard to exemption from appearance till April 16 when we will hear the plea further, the court said in its order.
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TRP scam: Bombay High Court extends Arnab Goswami’s interim relief till March 5
By PTI
MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court hearing the TRP scam case on Friday extended till March 5 the interim protection against coercive action granted to journalist Arnab Goswami and other employees of ARG Outlier Media that runs Republic TV channels.The interim relief was extended after the high court adjourned the hearing on ARG’s plea challenging the investigation of Mumbai police in the TRP scam case.
Friday’s hearing was adjourned after the Maharashtra government’s counsel, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, pointed out that in its rejoinder affidavit filed last week to counter the police’s charge sheet, ARG had relied upon several new documents that were not part of its petition.
Sibal said that since he would need time to respond to the new documents, ARG’s counsel senior lawyer Harish Salve must not rely upon those documents during his day’s arguments.
Salve, however, insisted on relying upon those documents.
The court then adjourned the hearing after accepting Sibal’s statement that the interim protection granted to Goswami and the others will continue till the next date.
A bench of Justices S S Shinde and Manish Pitale said it will hear the plea through video-conferencing only for its interim prayer of protection on March 5.
The bench will hear ARG’s main prayers challenging the police’s investigation and seeking the transfer of probe to the CBI or any other independent agency, on March 16 via physical hearing.
Salve told the court that he had taken the vaccination for COVID 19 recently and was due for the next shot of the vaccine six weeks later.
Therefore, he will not be able to travel to attend the physical hearing.
The court then intervened on a lighter vein and asked the Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, when the judges and senior lawyers were likely to get the vaccine? “I am deviating, but Mr Singh (ASG), why is vaccination not happening for us also?” the bench asked.
ARG media and Goswami had approached the high court last year, filing a bunch of petitions seeking several reliefs in the TRP scam.
They alleged that the whole case was malafide and that they have been targeted for Republic TV’s reportage in the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, and the Palghar lynching case, last year.
Last month, the Mumbai police had filed two affidavits in the case through Commissioner of Police Param Bir Singh, and ACP Shashank Sandbhor of the crime branch saying it had not targeted Republic TV or its employees.
The police had said its probe was not a result of any political vendetta.
The same HC bench on Friday adjourned another petition filed by Goswami, seeking to quash the case lodged against him in a 2018 abetment of suicide case.
This plea will also be heard on March 5.
Goswami and two others have been accused of abetting the suicide of an interior designer Anvay Naik.
The trio were arrested in the case and later released on bail.
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BARC ex-CEO Partho Dasgupta’s condition stable: Mumbai Police tell HC
By PTI
MUMBAI: The Mumbai police told the Bombay High Court on Monday that the health condition of Broadcast Audience Research Council’s former CEO Partho Dasgupta, arrested in an alleged TRP rigging scam, is stable.The police’s counsel, Deepak Thakare, told a bench of Justice P D Naik that Dasgupta was being provided all required medical care in the Taloja prison in neighbouring Navi Mumbai, where he is lodged as an undertrial.
The HC was hearing a bail plea filed by Dasgupta.
Dasgupta’s counsel Shardul Singh urged the HC to grant him bail, saying though his medical reports stated he was stable, Dasgupta suffered from a medical condition that caused him to lose consciousness often.
Singh also said that all other accused persons in the case were out on bail.
At this, the bench asked who was the main accused person in the case. “Arnab Goswami,” Singh said, referring to Republic TV’s editor-in-chief. Singh also informed the court that a charge sheet had already been filed in the case.
On January 19, a sessions court in Mumbai rejected Dasgupta’s bail plea.
Singh said the court’s detailed order recording reasons for refusing bail to Dasgupta had not been made available to the parties yet.
Justice Naik, therefore, adjourned the hearing on the bail plea to February 2, and asked the advocates in the case to submit a copy of the charge sheet and the lower court order by then.
The high court recorded the police’s statement that Dasgupta had been “provided with medications and he will be given the same medical treatment that he was receiving at the J J Hospital, as and when required”.
The HC also said if there is any medical emergency, then Dasgupta should be sent to the J J Hospital, a government-run medical facility in Mumbai.
Last week, Dasgupta was rushed to the J J Hospital from the Taloja prison after his blood sugar levels went up and he fell unconscious.
He was admitted to the J J Hospital’s ICU, and was discharged on January 22.
Following the discharge, his lawyers moved the HC for an urgent hearing, seeking that Dasgupta be shifted to a private hospital here and that he be granted interim bail for at least two weeks.
Dasgupta was arrested by the Mumbai crime branch on December 24 last year.
The fake Television Rating Points (TRP) scam came to light last year when ratings agency Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) filed a complaint through Hansa Research Group, alleging that certain television channels were rigging TRP numbers.
Hansa had been tasked with installing barometers, which record viewership data (which channel has been watched and for how long) at sample households.
The TRP is important as advertising revenue of channels depends on it.
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Maharashtra rights panel orders probe into complaint over arrests in TRP scam
By PTI
MUMBAI: The Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission (MSHRC) has asked its own investigation wing to probe the complaint which alleged that the arrest of Republic Media Network’s top officials Vikas Khanchandani and Ghyshaym Singh was “illegal and indiscriminate”.Khanchandani and Singh are currently out on bail.
They had been arrested last month in connection with the alleged Television Rating Points (TRP) rigging scam.
Following their arrest, one Aditya Mishra had approached the MSHRC, claiming the city police was falsely targeting the employees of Republic TV with a vendetta in mind.
After hearing the complaint for over a month, the commission on Thursday reserved its order and said it was entrusting the matter to its own investigation wing for an “impartial” probe.
The probe wing has been asked submit its report by March 10 to facilitate the commission in passing an appropriate judgement, it said.
The police began probe into the alleged scam after ratings agency Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) filed a complaint through Hansa Research Agency about rigging of TRP by some channels.
TRP, measured by recording viewership data at sample households, is crucial for attracting advertisers.
It was alleged that some of these families were being bribed to tune into certain channels to ramp up their TRP.