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.
Without disclosing other shareholders, Republic Media Network said the statement was being issued to "clarify the details of its promoter shareholding" in view of "misleading" media reports making "false and mala fide claims about the exact ownership of the consolidated network." It said Goswami through his personal investment and family owned around 84 per cent shareholding in ARG Outlier Media Pvt Ltd at the time of launch of the English news channel Republic TV in 2017.
The Bombay high court on Thursday said that even after three months' probe Mumbai Police did not seem to have anything 'on record' to make Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami and other employees of ARG Outlier Media accused in the TRP scam case.
The high court noted in its order that Bennett Coleman and Co Ltd, which has filed a suit against Goswami or ARG Outlier Media Pvt Ltd, which owns Republic TV, has submitted that the journalist is free to use the same as part of his speech/presentation of any news channel.
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 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 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 Mumbai police has registered a case in the TRP scam and summoned Republic TV's chief financial officer S Sundaram for investigation.
'Dasgupta misused his official position and manipulated TRP of specific news channels broadcast by ARG Outlier Media Pvt Ltd such as Republic Bharat Hindi and Republic TV English,' the police alleged in its remand note.
BARC said it was cooperating with the law enforcement agencies in their ongoing investigation in the Television Rating Points manipulation case.
The material collected by the investigating officer shows that Dasgupta manipulated TRP for particular channels by using his office as the CEO of BARC, the court observed.
Former Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) CEO Partho Dasgupta is the 'mastermind' of the Television Rating Points manipulation scam and there seemed more to the case than mere rigging of TRPs, as per the sessions court that had rejected his bail plea last month.
The four-member committee will be headed by Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi S Vempati. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said the present guidelines issued by it in 2014 on Television Rating agencies in India were notified after detailed deliberations by the Parliamentary Committee, Committee on Television Rating Points (TRP) constituted by the ministry and recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority etc.
Times Now, the English news channel Arnab Goswami headed until recently, had an average daily reach of 1.7 million people. That may be a fraction of the 48 million Aaj Tak reached every day in 2016, but Goswami had no trouble getting investors for his new venture.
A sessions court in Mumbai has dismissed a criminal defamation complaint filed by a Mumbai police officer against Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami over certain claims made during the coverage of the Sushant Singh Rajput death case.
After spending over two months in jail in the alleged TRP rigging scam, ex-Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) CEO Partho Dasgupta was given bail on Tuesday by the Bombay high court which said his detention was not necessary and there was no propriety in keeping him behind bars.
The court also directed police to submit for its perusal investigation papers pertaining to the case in a sealed cover by November 5 when it would hear the matter. The court was hearing a petition filed by ARG Outlier Media Pvt Ltd, which owns Republic TV, and Goswami seeking to quash the first information report lodged on October 6.
A bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud on Friday gave reasons for granting relief to the TV anchor and two others in the case.
Analysts say that Republic TV has to hit the top spot in the shortest possible time if it has to make a dent in the ad market and break even, writes Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.
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