Mumbai police agreed on Monday to issue a first subpoena to Arnab Goswami, editor-in-chief of Republic TV, if he is prosecuted as a defendant in the television rating point (TRP) scam uncovered by the criminal branch.
Lead lawyer Kapil Sibal, who represented the Mumbai police, agreed with the suggestion of the court composed of SS Magistrates Shinde and Makarand Karnik that the police should call Goswami first, as has been the case with eight employees of Republic TV, if the officer investigating the PRT scam decides to name him as a defendant in the case.
The court was hearing a petition filed by ARG Outlier Media Private Limited, owner of the Republic TV and R Bharat news channels, to annul the first information report (FIR) recorded at the Kandivali police station in relation to the scam of TRP, and also to seek a transfer of the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Also read: Cooperation with Mumbai Police in TRP Scam Investigation: BARC
A first information report was registered with the Kandivali police on October 7, 2020, after the criminal branch broke a scandal related to the fraudulent increase in TRP of certain channels, by paying to households where barometers were placed with the order to measure TRP.
At a press conference the next day, Mumbai Police Commissioner (CP) Param Bir Singh informed the media that one of the arrested defendants had revealed that he worked for Republic TV and was paying the households to fraudulently increase the TRPs of the English news channel.
However, ARG Outlier Media has claimed that the “Mumbai Police, including Param Bir Singh, harbor malice and ill will against the petitioners, as Republic TV and R Bharat have lately been at the forefront in questioning the late police investigation from Mumbai in the Sushant Singh Rajput case and the Palghar lynching ”.
“As a counterattack, a plethora of false and frivolous legal proceedings have been initiated against the petitioners at the behest of the political dispensation in the state of Maharashtra,” the petition reads, adding that the PRT scam case was part of the design to harass the news channel and its publisher.
The petitioning company has requested a transfer of the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), claiming that the investigation will have an effect throughout India on various stakeholders, including cable television operators, broadcasters, media agencies and advertisers. He said criminal guilt of this magnitude required an India-wide investigation by a reputable agency like the CBI to uncover the actual conspiracy and alleged malpractices by any interested party.
His attorney, lead attorney Harish Salve, presented that the entire investigation was “a disguise and an excuse to attack ARG and Republic TV. He said the FIR could be overruled because the police were totally and completely biased, after the news channel questioned its investigation into the Sushant Singh Rajput case and the Palghar lynching case, and urged the Bombay High Court to restrict to the police from taking any coercive measures against Goswami.
Sibal responded to the petition saying that the investigation into the TRP scam had nothing to do with the Palghar case. “What we are investigating is the aspect of money being paid to manipulate television ratings, the practice of paying money to increase TRP for commercial purposes,” said the main advocate.
Sibal added that the investigation is ongoing and the investigation is at an incipient stage, and the FIR cannot be overturned at Goswami’s request, as the FIR does not even mention his name.
In response to Goswami’s arrest apprehension, he said police have subpoenaed eight Republic TV employees in connection with the investigation and that none of them have been arrested.
The judges were of the opinion that there was no need to pass any provisional order, as Salve prayed, to extend protection against coercive measures, since Goswami’s name was not even included in the FIR. But they suggested that the police should issue subpoenas, as in the case of eight Republic TV employees, in case the investigating officer decides to add Goswami’s name as a defendant in the case.
Sibal agreed with the suggestion. Salve said Goswami would “honor the subpoena, if any, issued by the criminal branch of the Mumbai police … and cooperate with the investigation.”
The Bombay High Court has published ARG Outlier Media’s request for an additional hearing on November 5, with an order to the crime branch to present the documents of the TRP scam case in a sealed cover for the court to see. examine. “We would like to review the documents in the case and see what progress has been made in the investigation,” the court said.
During the hearing, the high court expressed its disgust at the police disclosures to the media. “We do not believe that it is the correct method or procedure to give interviews to the media … not only in this case but in many sensitive issues,” said the bench. “Police officers are not supposed to reveal incriminating material to the media when conducting an investigation.”
“The media are the fourth pillar of democracy … they must also behave responsibly,” the bank said after Sibal noted that the petitioner’s channels Republic TV and R Bharat had been conducting a trial with the media. and defaming the police.
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