Furnish relevant parts of charge sheet: Bombay HC to ex-BARC CEO Partho Dasgupta

The Bombay high court (HC) on Monday directed the counsel of former chief executive officer (CEO) of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) Partho Dasgupta to submit relevant portions of the 5,000-page charge sheet filed by the Mumbai Police’s crime branch against him in the television rating point (TRP) manipulation case before it can consider his bail application.

Dasgupta, who is currently lodged in Taloja jail hospital, had moved HC after the sessions court rejected his bail application on January 20. He has sought bail the grounds that all the co-accused in the case including the COO of BARC were out on interim bail.

However, after the state assured the court that Dasgupta was being provided proper medical care in the jail hospital and that in the event of any emergency he would be shifted to a Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation hospital or Sir JJ Hospital, the court adjourned the hearing to February 2.

The bench of justice PD Naik was informed by advocate Shardul Singh, for Dasgupta, that he was suffering from an acute ailment due to which he was prone to becoming unconscious. Singh referred to a January 15 incident wherein Dasgupta had fainted in Taloja jail and had remained unconscious for nearly 17 hours. He submitted that Dasgupta was moved to Sir JJ Hospital without any medical papers or instructions from jail doctors.

Singh further submitted that as all the other co-accused in the TRP manipulation case had been granted bail by different courts including the main accused Republic TV’s editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami, Dasgupta too should be granted bail.

However when the court sought to know whether the charge sheet was filed, Singh submitted that it was but the same was not annexed to the bail application as it was voluminous and ran into 5,000 pages. He added that only 10 pages of the charge sheet were relevant for the purpose of the bail application.

The bench then directed Singh to prepare a compilation of the relevant portions of the charge sheet and submit it to the court before the next hearing.

Chief public prosecutor Deepak Thakare, for the state, submitted the discharge papers of Dasgupta from Sir JJ Hospital and also the January 23 medical report from Taloja jail hospital. Thakare submitted that Dasgupta’s condition was stable and he was under continuous monitoring by experts. He added that in the event of any emergency, Dasgupta would be shifted to NMMC hospital at Navi Mumbai or Sir JJ Hospital and similar facilities were extended to accused in other cases too.

After hearing the submissions, the court observed that as Dasgupta’s condition was stable at Taloja jail hospital, his counsel should prepare a compilation of relevant parts of the charge sheet and submit it before the court and also serve the same to the state.