Partho says no TV channel, advertiser has complained

In his response to the crime branch’s opposition to his bail application filed before the sessions court, former CEO of BARC Partho Dasgupta has said that no TV channel or advertiser has filed a cheating complaint against him in the TRP rigging case.

“It is important to note that no TV channel or broadcaster has filed a complaint to the police...in short no possible person who could be “person deceived” as per their own case has filed a complaint”, his rejoinder said.

He said that advertisers are not naive to go solely by TRP as they know that it comprises a small sample and pointed out that no advertiser had complained to police either.

The crime branch had told a magistrate court that they had recovered jewellery worth Rs 48 lakh from him. “The entire said jewellery is legally and officially accounted for (even prior to 2017, i.e the launch of Republic TV,” it said.

He disputed the argument of the prosecution that he was running BARC and said that the highest body in BARC is its board, of which he was not a member. Further, he disputed that the former BARC COO Romil Ramgarhia had the same role in the offence and quoted a statement in the chargesheet which said that Ramgarhia was directly involved and Dasgupta only turned a blind eye. Further, Dasgupta said that all coaccused have been granted bail or anticipatory bail and no order was challenged by the prosecution. It also stated that the argument of the prosecution that he has breached guidelines of TRAI, but that the guidelines have no statutory force, since they are not an Act or Rule made by parliament or state legislature. Further, he contended that his post of CEO was not a constitutional post. It was a post in a private company.