[TRP Scam] Neutral body like BARC had no reason to talk to channel heads: Public Prosecutor tells Sessions court

An official of the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) who is supposed to be a neutral party had no reason to share information with Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami, said Special Public Prosecutor Shishir Hirey before a Sessions Court in Mumbai today..The argument was made during the hearing of the bail application filed by ex-BARC CEO Partho Dasgupta in a case related to the Television Rating Points Scam (TRP Scam)..Dasgupta was arrested by the Mumbai Police on December 24 for his alleged involvement in the (TRP) Scam. He was in police custody till December 31, after which he was remanded to judicial custody for two weeks..Hirey's contention was that Dasgupta 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"..Dasgupta was CEO of an institution that monitored TRPs of channels which in turn affected the revenue of channels through advertisements. "Advertisement world is running to the tune of Rs. 32,000 crores", Hirey said..Hirey informed the Court that the rise in TRPs was directly proportional to the rise in revenues of a channel. Hence, channels tried to manipulate TRPs through the following means:By manipulating physical viewers to watch channels for longer hours.By manipulating the viewership figures with the help of BARC internally..Hirey proceeded to read out the evidence collected by the Mumbai Police, pointing out how Dasgupta actively aided in manipulating the TRPs of news channels, specifically Republic TV. He relied upon a forensic audit report which verified the existence of WhatsApp chats between Republic employees and BARC employees..He also read out emails and WhatsApp chats exchanged between Republic TV employees and former BARC employees. He pointed out that every employee of the Republic TV channels which was involved in the financials of the company was in contact with former employees of BARC..The Public Prosecutor also read out a text conversation exchanged between Dasgupta and Goswami in relation to manipulating the ratings of Republic TV so that it surpasses the viewership ratings of Times Now.."Dasgupta was supposed to be neutral, then what was the need to share details with Arnab Goswami?", Hirey mused.Hirey also notified the Court that Dasgupta had confessed during his interrogation that he was approached by Goswami because he was aware of the mechanisms of TRPs and was even paid by him for manipulating the same..Considering the role and influence that Dasgupta had while he was CEO, Hirey raised an apprehension that if he is released on bail, he may influence his employees to not co-operate in the investigation being conducted by the Mumbai Police..He thus opposed the bail application, stating that even if the chargesheet may have been filed in the case, the investigation was yet to be complete..Due to paucity of time, Hirey could not finish his submissions today. He will continue with his submissions on January 19.Advocate Shardul Singh, appearing for Dasgupta, concluded his submissions on Monday..Dasgupta approached the Sessions Court after the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate refused to grant him bail in the TRP Scam case.