S Gurumurthy backs Republic & Arnab for suing Param Bir Singh, demands his transfer

On Monday, Thuglak editor S Gurumurthy backed Republic Media Network and Arnab Goswami for deciding to sue Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh. According to him, Param Bir Singh's position has become untenable after the Maharashtra government admitted before the Bombay High Court that Republic TV has not been named in the TRP scam FIR. Moreover, he called upon the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government to transfer Singh.

Read: Republic News Release: BARC Email Shreds Param Bir Singh’s Lie-ridden Campaign In TRP Case

Meanwhile, lawyer Ishkaran Bhandari demanded that all cases against Republic Media Network's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami should be transferred to the CBI. The Mumbai Police Commissioner will be sued for Rs.200 crore as damages- Rs.100 crore each for damage caused to the reputation of Arnab Goswami and the Republic Media Network respectively. Moreover, Republic shall file a contempt petition against ACP Sudhir Jambwadekar who initiated chapter proceedings with respect to FIRs that have been suspended by the Bombay HC's order. 

What is the alleged TRP scam?

Addressing a press briefing on October 8, Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh accused Republic TV and two other channels of rigging TRPs by paying viewers to keep their channels on for longer periods. But the FIR registered on October 6, 2020, made no mention of Republic TV, Republic Bharat, Republic World or any affiliate of the Republic Media Network. Furthermore, an audit inquiry by BARC confirmed that 5 households were indeed bribed to watch India Today daily for a minimum of two hours from November 2019 to May 2020.

However, interestingly, the Mumbai Police’s news conference named Republic TV. Additionally, the Supreme Court raised concerns about Param Bir Singh's statements in the media regarding the case.

Appearing for the Maharashtra government before the Bombay HC bench comprising Justices SS Shinde and MS Karnik, senior advocate Kapil Sibal stated that Republic has not been named in the FIR, he maintained that the FIR shouldn't be quashed as the investigation is still at a nascent stage. During the hearing, the HC also observed that Arnab Goswami is not an accused in the case. 

Read: Republic News Release After Mumbai Police’s Vicious Show-cause Notice To Arnab Goswami