A Mumbai court on Thursday allowed the Maharashtra Police to withdraw all prosecution into the alleged Television Rating Points Scam (TRP), including the allegations against Republic TV’s editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami.
Special Public Prosecutor Shishir Hiray, appearing for the Maharashtra Police, filed the application under Section 321 of CrPC, which allows the Public Prosecutor to withdraw from the prosecution of any person in respect of any offences for which he is tried.
The consent of the court is necessary for withdrawal.
necessary for such withdrawal.
Metropolitan Magistrate LS Padhen of Esplanade court permitted the prosecution to withdraw FIR no. 843 of 2020 after Hiray apprised the court that continuing the criminal proceedings may not lead to conviction in the case but would only end up wasting the court’s valuable time.
The application stated that the Maharashtra Home department took the decision to withdraw the case considering various factors, including contradictions in the Mumbai police probe.
The SSP further said that three investigating agencies (Maharashtra Police, CBI and ED) had probed the case with different outcomes.
He said the witnesses whose statements were recorded initially during the Mumbai Police investigation had stated on oath under Section 164 of the CrPC that their statements were either wrongly or falsely recorded by the Mumbai Police.
As per the SPP, submissions were made that no one till date has come forward saying the offence has taken place. Neither the TRAI nor BARC or any advertisers have come forward saying they have been cheated or some crime has taken place. We applied our mind and concluded that the case would not lead to conviction and would only waste judiciary’s time and government’s efforts,” Hiray said.
Hiray also referred to the contradicting reports submitted by the Enforcement Directorate where the witnesses did not support the allegations in the Mumbai police case.
ED had purportedly registered a money laundering case based on the Mumbai police FIR. In its investigation report, ED also cleared Republic TV and R Bharat of the charges of manipulating TRP numbers in the case.