Mumbai Police is probing Republic TV for allegedly manipulating TRP.
New Delhi:
Mumbai Police has filed an advance affidavit within the Supreme Courtroom opposing a petition filed by Republic TV to switch the case on alleged rigging viewership rankings rip-off to the CBI. Republic TV is abusing the method of legislation by conducting programmes within the case and “intimidating the witnesses”, the police has mentioned in its affidavit filed late final evening.
“Republic TV’s demand to switch the probe to CBI is misconceived. Republic TV needs to thwart the probe into fudging of TRP rankings,” the police mentioned within the affidavit.
“Arnab Goswami (Republic TV’s editor-in-chief) is holding programmes the place this case is debated at size and contacting witnesses and interfering and intimidating the witnesses,” it mentioned.
A 3-judge bench of Justices DY Chandrachud, Indu Malhotra and Indira Banerjee will hear the Republic TV’s petition by way of a video hyperlink right now.
Mumbai Police additionally contended the channel’s declare on freedom of speech in its affidavit to the highest court docket. “Freedom of speech proper can’t be invoked into an alleged crime. Proper beneath Article 19(1) freedom of speech can’t be a defend in opposition to probe,” it mentioned.
The police additionally that probe within the case is at present underway and quite a few officers of a number of channels have been summoned.
“Probe within the case is underway. There isn’t a want for prime court docket to intervene now,” the affidavit mentioned.
Aside from Republic TV, the Mumbai Police is investigating the function of two different channels — Fakt Marathi and Field Cinema — as a part of its probe into the alleged manipulation of rankings.
The investigation into the alleged faux rankings case relies on a grievance by Hansa, a non-public firm concerned in assessing viewership.
Republic TV – which claims the best TRPs or Tv Score Factors amongst information channels – has mentioned that it was being focused for its protection of actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s loss of life, the place they’ve questioned the function of Mumbai Police.
The channel’s editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami had mentioned they are going to sue Mumbai Police for the allegations and that there’s “not a single BARC (Broadcast Viewers Analysis Council) report that talked about Republic TV”. “The folks of India know the reality. BARC has not talked about Republic in any grievance,” he mentioned.
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