In a significant development, a Mumbai court has granted permission for the withdrawal of the FIR concerning the alleged fake Television Rating Points (TRP) scam of 2020, in which Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami is an accused. The decision comes after the crime branch of Mumbai police sought to withdraw the case, citing concerns about the likelihood of conviction and the potential waste of judicial resources.
Metropolitan Magistrate LS Padhen of Esplanade court approved the request to withdraw FIR no. 843 of 2020, following submissions by Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Shishir Hiray. Hiray informed the court that continuing the criminal proceedings may not lead to conviction, considering the lack of evidence supporting the allegations and conflicting reports submitted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Hiray emphasized that neither the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) nor the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) nor any advertisers had come forward with evidence of wrongdoing. Mumbai court The conflicting evidence presented by the ED, coupled with the lack of support from witnesses, further undermined the case’s viability.
The TRP scam case came to light in 2020 when the crime branch uncovered instances of manipulation in the sampling of Mumbai court metering services conducted by Hansa Research Group. Investigations revealed that certain individuals, including Vishal Ved Bhandari, had been artificially inflating TRP numbers by incentivizing the viewership of specific TV channels.
Despite initial allegations implicating Republic TV channels in the scam, subsequent Mumbai court investigations and reports cleared the network of any wrongdoing. The Crime Branch filed a chargesheet in November 2020, implicating several individuals, including Arnab Goswami, as accused. However, inconsistencies in the probe and conflicting evidence prompted the authorities to seek withdrawal of the case.
The decision to withdraw the FIR underscores the complexities and challenges faced in prosecuting cases of this nature. As the legal proceedings unfold, the implications of this development on the TRP scam case and the individuals involved remain to be seen.
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