Synopsis: The two are accused of paying two former Hansa employees to exploit their channels’ panel to raise TRPs.
On Thursday, a sessions court granted bail to Fakt Marathi co-promoter Shirish Pattanshetty and Box Cinema founder Narayan Sharma, both accused in the TRP case.
Shirish Pattanshetty, co-promoter of Fakt Marathi TV channel, was awarded bail on Thursday, at the Mumbai Sessions Court, Dindoshi.
The channel was accused of being involved in the TRP scam that the Mumbai Police discovered earlier this month.
Additional Sessions Judge PR Sitre granted Pattanshetty bail on the provision of a bail bond with the Kandivali police station of Rs. 50,000/- along with other conditions.
The bail application was filed by Pattanshetty, alleging that the police did not comply with the arrest procedures as set out in the Code of Criminal Procedure.
He added that the ingredients of the provisions of the Indian Penal Code levelled against him had little to prove police’s allegations.
Appearing for Pattanshetty, Advocate Aniket Nikam denied allegations that money was paid in order to increase Fakt Marathi TV channel’s TRPs.
He backed his argument by relying on Pattanshetty’s bank statement, which he said did not indicate any such transaction.
Advocate Nikam asked the Court to note that, during the particular time under review, the TRP ratings and the channel’s revenue numbers had actually fallen, refuting the police’s argument that money was paid to raise TRPs. He added, “whatever the Mumbai Police was doing amounted to witch-hunt”.
He ended by submitting that nothing was recovered by the police during the custodial questioning. Further detention was unwarranted, he claimed.
After the detection, Crime Branch of the Mumbai Police uncovered a TRP racket earlier this month, Pattanshetty was arrested along with the owner of Box Cinema for the same.
The present petition was raised before the Court of Sessions after Pattanshetty’s bail application was refused by the Metropolitan Magistrate in Esplanade, Mumbai.