TRP case: Court clears 16 accused of all charges, case disposed of

The state had told the court then that none including Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India, or any advertisers till date came forward to claim the offence had taken place or they had been cheated. The state submitted that even if the accused were prosecuted, it would not lead to a conviction and hence sought for the case to be withdrawn. Earlier this year, in March, the court permitted the withdrawal of the case.

Although the ED had filed a separate case under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, in absence of the predicate offence filed by the Mumbai police, the central agency’s case cannot proceed. The accused through their lawyers hence filed discharge.

The 16 discharged on Saturday included those linked to three movie channels and ex-relationship managers of Hansa Research Group Private Limited, which measured TRP on behalf of BARC. The ED had in 2022 said that it has not found evidence against Republic TV. In its chargesheet, the ED had not named ARG Outlier Media, that owns Republic TV or any of its members, while continuing its probe against some channels. The proceedings in the ED case are now disposed of.