JOIN USFormer BARC CEO Partho Dasgupta granted bail by Bombay HC in TRP scam
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted bail to former Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) CEO Partho Dasgupta, accused in the TRP scam.
Justice P D Naik granted bail to Dasgupta (55) on a personal bond of Rs 2 lakh and two solvent sureties of the same amount.
Dasgupta approached the HC in January this year after a sessions court rejected his bail plea while noting that he had played a vital role in the scam and was the alleged "mastermind".
He was accused of having misused his official position and conniving with ARG Outlier Media, the company that runs all Republic TV channels, and with Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami, to manipulate TRPs.
Republic TV has denied any wrongdoing.
He was arrested by the crime branch of the Mumbai Police on December 24 last year.
The Mumbai police while opposing Dasgupta's bail plea had said he played a direct role in the manipulation of TRPs for TV news channels.
The police had relied on Dasgupta's chats with Goswami where they discussed the manipulation of TRPs.
Dasgupta's counsel Ponda earlier urged the HC to grant him bail, saying the police had already filed their charge sheet in the case and his custodial interrogation was not required any more.
Ponda had also told the HC that Dasgupta's WhatsApp chats, including his chats with co-accused Goswami, were merely "lose talks".
On January 16, Dasgupta was rushed to the state-run J J Hospital from the Taloja prison in neighbouring Navi Mumbai, after his blood sugar levels went up and he fell unconscious.
He was admitted to the ICU of the J J Hospital and was discharged on January 22.
Following his discharge, his lawyers had moved the HC seeking an urgent hearing of his bail plea.
(With agency inputs)