The Mumbai police claimed that ARG Outlier Media Pvt Limited, which runs Republic TV, and its editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami, are carrying out vendetta against the police force through their TV channels and that Goswami is “directly interfering and intimidating witnesses by issuing news releases”.
In an affidavit filed last week before a bench of Justices SS Shinde and Manish Pitale, the Mumbai police said it had not falsely implicated anybody, including Goswami or other functionaries of Republic TV, in the case.
The Mumbai police, through Shashank Sandbhor, Assistant Commissioner of Police, CID, Crime Branch, filed the affidavit in reply to the plea. The investigations carried on so far prima facie indicate collusion between the officials of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) with others to manipulate ratings, read the affidavit.
Further, the police submitted that WhatsApp chats seized during the probe indicate “commission of offence”, and “contain relevant information that requires further investigation, which should not be shut out by way of present proceedings.”
The Mumbai Police has stated in its reply before the Bombay High Court that the plea filed by ARG Outlier Media Pvt Ltd challenging proceedings initiated against it in the Television Rating Points scam (TRP scam) is not maintainable, as the employees of Republic TV have not even been named as accused.
In the affidavits, filed through senior counsel Kapil Sibal, the police said it had received a legitimate complaint regarding the scam, and it had initiated a probe following a preliminary inquiry and an analytical report submitted by the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC).
"The contention of the petitioners (ARG and Republic TV) is that Mumbai police harbour ill will and malice against the petitioners as the TV channels of the petitioners have questioned the investigation by Mumbai police in the Sushant Singh Rajput case and Palghar lynching incident," read the affidavit by Singh.
The affidavit said Mumbai police was a "professional police force" that did not let "individual opinions affect its judgement".
"I deny there is any concerted effort or political conspiracy as alleged," his affidavit read.
The police further said an accused had no right to choose the investigating agency in a case. It also said since the trial court had already taken cognizance of its charge sheet in the case, ARG had no right to seek that HC quash proceedings against it.
Defending press conferences held by the police after it unearthed the Television Rating Points scam, Singh, in his affidavit, said briefings were held as per the procedure and practice established in "sensitive cases".
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