TRP scam: Ex-BARC CEO Partho Dasgupta’s bail plea rejected by Mumbai sessions court
Dasgupta was arrested by the Mumbai Police on December 24 for his alleged involvement in the TRP Scam.
FollowMumbai: A sessions court on Wednesday rejected the bail plea of former CEO of BARC (Broadcast Audience Research Council), Partho Dasgupta, who was arrested on December 24 in the alleged TRP scam.
The bail was sought on the grounds that no TV channel or advertiser has filed a cheating complaint against him in the TRP rigging case.
He was in police custody till December 31, after which he was remanded to judicial custody for two weeks.
Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Shishir Hirey had opposed the bail plea for the State, arguing that Dasgupta had misused his position as CEO of BARC for personal gain. He added that Dasgupta's conduct amounted to "tainting the sanctity of the post he held."
The SPP also referred substantially to chats allegedly exchanged between Dasgupta and Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami. He contended that Goswami and Dasgupta had colluded to manipulate the TRPs of Republic TV channels.
It said that if granted bail, there was a possibility of Dasgupta misusing his influence and tampering with evidence.
However, in its bail plea for Dasgupta, the defence cited the health issues of the former BARC head, adding that he had to be hospitalised last week.
They said that the doctors had indicted to the family that Dasgupta had developed “diabetic ketoacidosis” which is known to cause life-threatening diabetic coma. The defence said that keeping him in jail might lead to recurrence.
Earlier this month, a magistrate court had rejected the former executive’s bail plea observing that he had played a “vital” role in the offence.
