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 Tuesday asked what had prompted the Mumbai police to hold a press conference last year over the alleged Television Rating Points (TRP) scam.
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.
'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.
The Mumbai police has registered a case in the TRP scam and summoned Republic TV's chief financial officer S Sundaram for investigation.
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.
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.
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.
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.