All state and central agencies must be objective and reasonable while carrying out an investigation, the Bombay high court observed on Thursday while referring to the ongoing probe into the case pertaining to the manipulation of Television Ratings Points (TRPs).
A division bench of Justice S S Shinde and Justice Manish Pitale also said that a probe in any case cannot “continue for years altogether” and that the “state and investigating officer should stop at one stage”. “In a democratic set up, there has to be reasonability and objectiveness. Hence, what we want to know is when will you complete the investigation,” the bench said.
The court was hearing the arguments filed by Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami and ARG Outlier Media Private Limited, the company that runs the news channel, seeking quashing of the FIR and chargesheet filed in the case. The state government, however, informed the bench had it had the right to investigate a case for as long as it was needed. The court posted the hearing for March 23.