TRP scam: Bombay High Court grants bail to former BARC CEO Partho Dasgupta

The Bombay High Court today granted bail to former BARC chief executive officer Partho Dasgupta, who was arrested in December in connection with the TRP manipulation case.

While granting him bail, LiveLaw reported, Justice PD Naik said: "The applicant is permitted to execute provisional cash bail of Rs 2 lakh for a period of six weeks."

Dasgupta had sought bail on medical grounds. He had been admitted in hospital in January with a blood sugar spike; his family had also alleged that he was "tortured" by the Mumbai police. Dasgupta approached the high court after a sessions court rejected his bail application.

Dasgupta took ill soon after the police made public WhatsApp chats that purportedly show him colluding with Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami to rig TRPs, which are measured by the rating agency BARC, and lobby Narendra Modi’s top ministers.

LiveLaw reported that during today's hearing, the special public prosecutor "relied heavily on a BARC forensic audit report which names several ex-BARC officials, including Dasgupta, WhatsApp chats allegedly between him and [Arnab] Goswami, and statements of witness."

Dasgupta's lawyer had dismissed the WhatsApp chats as "loose talk".