Bombay HC reserves verdict on Partho Dasgupta's bail plea: Report

The Bombay High Court reserved its orders on ex BARC CEO Partho Dasgupta's bail plea. Dasgupta is an accused in the television rating points scam.

According to reports, a single judge Bench comprising Justice PD Naik witnessed the arguments presented by Special Public Prosecutor Shishir Hiray after Senior Advocate Aabad Ponda presented his submissions.

Prosecutor Hiray noted that while BARC COO Romil Ramgarhia was in charge of the finances, Dasgupta held a more important position in the company since he was the CEO and MD of the company. By the virtue of his position, Dasgupta needs clearance from the Central ministry, said Hiray.

The prosecutor said that the fact that Dasgupta had close relations with Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami was clear from their interactions on WhatsApp.

Senior Advocate Aabad Ponda and Advocate Arjun Singh Thakur then presented their submissions in the rejoined to the arguments of the state. They emphasised that the jewellery, photos and reports were inadmissible in court and unconnected to the investigation.

Ponda also argued that not a single advertise has come forward to file a complaint. He said that the data handled by BARC is so vast, "four times the data of Aadhar", cannot be manipulated. He also noted that consequences for tampering with the guidelines, which Dasgupta was supposed to follow as per Hiray's contention, was a civil, not criminal liability.

Ponda added that Dasgupta was not interrogated properly while he was in judicial custody. Had the interrogation and investigation been completed, the charge sheet against him wouldn't have been filed in the first place, noted Ponda.

After listening to arguments on both sides, the HC decided to reserve the verdict.