With the ouster of Hasina, news of protesters taking over the residence of ex-PM emerged, with videos of the protestors taking away stuff from Hasina’s official residence. Even though a statement was made by Army chief Waker uz Zaman, stating that law-and-order will be maintained in the country and action will be taken against offenders, situations soon turned volatile. Adding fuel to the fire were unsubstantiated reports of minority Hindus in Bangladesh being attacked by the majority population of Bangladesh. Within hours of the reports of Hasina leaving the country, false narratives of Bangladeshi Hindus facing attacks, their houses being demolished and Hindu temples being vandalised emerged on social media.

It is crucial to highlight here that the coordinators of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, which had led the protest demanding the resignation of Hasina, had also appealed to protect Hindu population in Bangladesh. On August 8, 2024, Dr Mohammed Yunus, after taking charge of the interim government in Bangladesh delivered his first address and said “if you trust me to run your country, the first thing you need to do is to stop attacking the people and the minorities around you. If you don’t, I have no use and it’s better I leave”.

As pictures unrelated to Bangladesh and old videos started surfacing and circulating on social media, many took to busting these false exaggerated claims being made with the objective of given a communal colour to the situation of Bangladesh and create an unrest in India between the Hindu and Muslim community. To counter the hysteria being spread by the right-wing groups on social media, pictures of Muslims in Bangladesh standing vigil in front of Hindu temples also emerged on social media. (A detailed report can be viewed here.) Adding to this chaos of false news and misinformation being spread stands Republic TV, which has been creating confusion and mixing information and misinformation. In the past as well, Republic TV has been criticised, even by the Courts, for their “derogatory” manner of reporting on news. In January 2021, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Dipankar Dutta and Justice GS Kulkarni of the Bombay High Court had held that the media coverage by Republic TV and Times Now against Mumbai police in the case pertaining to death of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput to be prima facie contemptuous

Reports on the actual attacks on minorities in Bangladesh till now:

However, it is pertinent to highlight that The Daily Star has reported a few attacks on minorities till now. As per the report of the The Daily Star, in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi, the home of band Joler Gaan’s frontman Rahul Ananda was set on fire and burnt to the ground on Monday.

“As soon as they broke down the gate, they started ravaging the house, taking whatever they could find for themselves. They took everything — from furniture and mirrors to valuables. After that, they torched the whole house along with Rahul da’s musical instruments,” a close family source of Rahul had reportedly told The Daily Star. Notably, Rahul and his family had managed to flee to safety and were not attacked. The report also provided that on the same day, the Dhanuka Manasa Bari temple in Shariatpur was ransacked by an angry mob. it has been reported that the mob crushed the idols of Radha-Krishna and razed the temple to the ground. They also damaged all 16 CCTV cameras installed inside the temple premises.

According to The Dhaka Tribune, the warehouse of Babul Saha, chairman of Narikelbaria in Bhagarpara, Jessore, was attacked and looted, along with 22 shops belonging to the local Hindu community. Several homes were also vandalized and plundered during the incident, which occurred on Monday night. The area is home to at least 200 Hindu families, and locals reported that residents are now guarding their homes at night. During a visit on Wednesday, it was observed that Gobinda Saha, a local resident, was cleaning up broken window panes in front of his house, which had been damaged during the attack. He recounted that around 20-25 assailants, armed with machetes and sticks, had stormed their homes around 9:30 p.m. on Monday.

Details of the attacks can be read here.

How Republic TV reported attacks on minorities in Bangladesh:

Before beginning with this, it is essential to note that at least two of the videos shared by Republic TV, namely “Bangladesh Protest: Banaras Hindu University में पढ़ रहे छात्रों ने बताई खौफनाक” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcEu3gw83h4 ) and “बांग्लादेश में हिंसा की भेंट चढ़े हिंदू मंदिर हुई तोड़फोड़ | Bangladesh Hindu Mandir Attack” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiXdoawPofY ) have been made private. The said video had some nasty unsubstantiated comments.

In another video, namely “Bangladesh में कट्टरपंथियों का निशाना बने हिंदू! | R Bharat Bangladesh में कट्टरपंथियों का निशाना बने हिंदू! | R Bharat”, Republic Bharat has made big claims about how the whole Hindu population in Bangladesh is at the target of the public at large in the country. However, their report on the properties of Hindus being destroyed is intertwined with false news.

One of the clippings from the report of the Hindu properties being burnt showed the following temple being burnt by mobs.

It is essential to note that Mohammad Zubair, a fact checker and the co-founder of AltNews, had highlighted that the visual that are being passed as the burning of a Hindu temple is, in fact, a restaurant being burnt by the protestors in Bangladesh. While the reporter herself stated that there is an increasing anger in the Hindus of India in regards to the targeting of Hindus of Bangladesh, Republic TV themselves went on to spread fake and unverified news. To do so after knowing that the activities of the neighbouring will have on the public order and harmony of India is reckless to say the least. In addition to spreading misinformation and panic in regards to the situation in Bangladesh, the report used derogatory words such a “jihadi” for the Muslims of Bangladesh multiple times throughout the video. Instigating tickers containing the word ‘Jihadi’ were also a part of the programme.

It is essential to note that the report even claimed that the Muslims in Bangladesh were trying to burn Hindus alive there. While the on-ground situation of Bangladesh remains unclear, creating panic by making exaggerated speeches and creating chaos is violative of the duties that media and digital news is supposed to abide by. A few examples of instigating tickers is below:

The video can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmjbQMzUedI

In the other programme, which was titled “Bangladesh में लोगों पर आफत, मंदिरों पर हमला, अस्तित्व पर संकट! | R Bharat” also had a similar coverage, wherein derogatory words such as ‘Jihadi’ were used repeatedly.

A few examples of instigating tickers are as follows:

The video can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylvW0pF9EDE

Guidelines of the court on media coverage and the role and conduct of the anchors:

The Bombay High Court had, in the case of Nilesh Navalakha and ors vs Union of India and ors. [PIL (ST) No. 92252 of 2020], had touched upon the issue of media trials being run by certain TV channels in the name of “investigative journalism” and the role that electronic media played in derogation of characters of those being investigated by police and courts in the Sushant Singh Rajput case. The High Court bench led by the then Chief Justice Dipankar Dutta and comprising of Justice Girish Kulkarni had admonished media houses of indulging in such a media trial while reiterating the role of statutory authorities under the Cable Television Networks Act and directed them to take necessary action in complaints received by them.

The 251-page judgment of the Bombay High Court, a constitutional court, is now the most recent jurisprudential marker on established standards for media publications, electronic media and networks when they report ongoing investigations and legal proceedings. While laying down several norms specifying the conduct that needs to be followed by anchors during debates and programmes, the Court had stated that the right to freedom of speech and expression like all other rights in the Constitution is also not absolute; it is subject to imposition of reasonable restrictions. The court also emphasised upon the role that media plays in moulding the opinion of the common person in India, making it all the more essential for them to abide by the rules of responsibility, neutrality and impartiality in their reporting.

The details on the judgment can be read here.

Related:

Lessons from a ‘Democratic Revolt’: Prevent the slide into majoritarianism

Redefining Indian Tradition Minus Christianity & Islam is Intellectual Dishonesty

Bangladesh Situation Tumultuous, But Does Not Signify Islamic Extremist Dominance

Chaos in Bangladesh provides opportunity to right-wing social media to spread misinformation regarding Hindus, temples being attacked in the country

The post Does turmoil in Bangladesh warrant using derogatory language against Muslims by anchors of Republic TV? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The statement says that while the police should certainly investigate if allegations have been levelled against the journalist, but to take him away while he is reporting is indeed a cause for concern.

The Editors Guild calls on the administration in West Bengal to conduct a speedy inquiry and ensure that no injustice is done to Mr Pan. The government must also do everything it can to protect freedom of the press says the statement issued by Anant Nath, President, Ruben Banerjee, General Secretary and K Ve Prasad, Treasurer.

Related:

FIR against editors, Prabhat Khabar, Editor’s Guild voices concern

Press Club of India condemns FIR against Editor’s Guild of India (EGI), criminalising journalism

The post Concerned over arrest of TV journalist working for Republic Bangla: Editor’s Guild appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Republic TV has sent a legal notice to Indian Express for its story titled Arnab Goswami paid me $12,000 and Rs 40 lakh to fix ratings: Partho Dasgupta dated January 25.

This stems from the Mumbai Police’s claims that former Chief Executive Officer of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) Partho Dasgupta had in alleged connivance with another ex-senior BARC official and Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami, manipulated the television rating points of Republic TV and its Hindi channel. The Indian Express’s impugned story reported on the same allegation.

The legal notice is to “cease and desist from reporting fake, unsubstantiated, false and unverified news against Republic TV in respect of the alleged TRP scam being investigated by the Mumbai Police; remove the false news report from all mediums; and to publish an unconditional apology to Republic TV for reporting such false and fake stories and issue a corrigendum clarifying the correct facts, in all print and digital media, and other social media platforms.”

Republic TV has alleged that the very title of the Indian Express story would mislead any reader into wrongly believing that, as a matter of fact, payments were made by Goswami to Partho Dasgupta and that such a headline is squarely “deliberate and mischievous”.

The notice states that the news report deliberately omits to mention that the above statement was allegedly extracted by the Mumbai police from Partho Dasgupta under coercion and duress, is inadmissible in law, and has already been denied by Mr. Dasgupta himself.

“The news report is a vile, hateful, malicious attempt by you and part of a severely prejudicial campaign engineered and implemented by the Indian Express against our clients and aimed at attempting to irreparably destroy their reputation as well as the reputation of the Republic Media network… The malicious intent is to further your own corporate/commercial interests by defaming our clients”, reads the legal notice.

It was further pointed out that the investigation of the matter is underway and it is also pending consideration before the Bombay High Court, and that such biased reportage amounts to criminal contempt of Court. Point 9 of the notice strongly asserts:

“You have acted as a judge, jury and executioner in breach of all journalistic ethics and against the well-settled law. By concealing material facts, pronouncing our client guilty of TRP manipulation, even though the matter is pending investigation and is also sub judice, your assertions amount to criminal contempt of court and, it appears, that these are intended to further your own commercial and corporate interests through sensationalism at the cost of our clients’ reputation, and presumably to divert attention away from fact that the BARC audit report of July 2020 points towards the guilt of another channel.”

Besides cease and desist from reporting on such news and tendering an apology, a proposal on monetary compensation for the news report has been laid down in the notice served to Indian Express. It said, “Although the immense damage caused to our clients’ reputation cannot be sufficiently made good in terms of money, our clients seek your proposal on the monetary compensation that you are prepared to offer in addition to taking the above steps as your recognition and acknowledgment of your defamatory conduct and content.”

The notice sent through Phoenix Legal on January 26, mentions that if the Indian Express does not take steps in accordance with the notice within 24 hours, Republic TV will take appropriate legal steps.

Mr. Dasgupta was arrested on December 24 last year and his bail plea was rejected by the Sessions Court on January 20.

The notice may be read here: 

Related:

Republic TV making TRP scam a “media spectacle”: Mumbai Police to SC

Republic TV, two others accused of TRP fraud

The post Arnabgate: Republic TV sends legal notice to Indian Express appeared first on SabrangIndia.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Dipankar Dutta and Justice GS Kulkarni of the Bombay High Court has held that the media coverage by Republic TV and Times Now against Mumbai police in the case pertaining to death of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput is prima facie contemptuous but refrained from taking any action.

According to Bar and Bench, the court observed that trial by media interferes with the criminal investigation by Police and issued a slew of directions to the media to be followed while reporting incidents involving suicide and death of persons.  

Disposing of a batch of PILs seeking regulation of media trial, the Bench laid down several guidelines on reporting on crime. Some of the guidelines pronounced by the Bench in the open Court are as follows:

• Publishing a confession alleged to have been made by an accused as if it is an admissible evidence without letting the public know about its inadmissibility should be avoided;
• While reporting suicide, to suggest that the person was of weak character, should be avoided;
• Reconstructing of crime scenes, interviews with potential witnesses, leaking sensitive and confidential information should be avoided;
• Investigative agencies are entitled to keep secrecy about the ongoing investigation and they are under no obligation to divulge information.

The High Court has also adopted the suggestion of Senior Advocate Arvind Datar regarding the appointment of a Public Information Officer by Police to give authentic information about criminal investigations, reported LiveLaw.

The Division Bench has also clarified that its findings and observations in the judgment are not a reflection on the pending investigations and the concerned criminal court should decide the issues uninfluenced by the observations.

In previous hearings on the matter of media trial by channels in relation to the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, the court had reportedly asked the Advocates representing Republic TV, “If you become the investigator, prosecutor and the judge, what is the use of us? Why are we here? Is this part of investigative journalism? Asking public about their opinion on who should be arrested? When a case is under investigation and the issue is whether it’s a homicide or a suicide and a channel is saying it is murder, is that investigative journalism?”

The Bombay High Court today, on January 18 was pronouncing its verdict on a batch of petitions seeking guidelines for ethical reporting and responsible journalism, by all forms of media, especially at the investigation stage.

(To be updated with order)

Related:

Guilty as charged: Investigators, judge, jury and executioners of TV news ‘debates’
Right to free speech does not mean a licence to promote hate speech: Editors Guild of India
Delhi High Court tells Arnab Goswami to calm down and stop his media trials

The post Republic TV and Times Now reportage prima facie contemptuous: Bombay High Court appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Office of Communications (Ofcom), the regulator of communication services in the United Kingdom, has imposed a fine of £20,000 on Worldview Media Network Limited which owns the license to operate Arnab Goswami’s Republic Bharat in the country.

It concluded that the programme was in breach of Rules 2.3 (offensive and discriminatory language), 3.2 (hate speech) and 3.3 (abusive and derogatory treatment of individuals, religions or communities) of the Ofcom Broadcasting Code.

The order held that the discussion “Poochta Hai Bharat” telecast by the channel on September 6, 2019, breached broadcasting conditions by promoting “hatred and intolerance” against a group of individuals.

The breach decision reads: “an episode of the programme Poochta Hai Bharat contained comments made by the host and some of his guests that amounted to hate speech against Pakistani people, and derogatory and abusive treatment of Pakistani people. The content was also potentially offensive and was not sufficiently justified by the context.”

The show featured a debate between the host, Arnab Goswami, and the guests that comprised three Indian and three Pakistani’s, relating to India’s attempt to send the spacecraft Chandrayaan 2 on its mission to the moon.

Ofcom critically observed, “We considered that the overall tone of the discussion was provocative, comparing Pakistanis to donkeys and monkeys. We also noted that Pakistani contributors were repeatedly interrupted and afforded little time to make points which may potentially have provided challenge or context.”

Noting that terrorism is a sensitive topic, Ofcom further observed that the tone and tenor of the show was biased and hate filled. The order held, “The programme also referred to Pakistani people as “terrorists” (even children), “beggars”, “thieves”, “backward”, likened them to donkeys and referred to them as “Paki”, a racist term that is highly offensive and unacceptable to a UK audience.

The Licensee (Worldwide Media Network) argued that the use of the term “Paki” was not intended to be offensive, nor would be interpreted as such particularly when used in the sub-continent. In Ofcom’s view, these negative descriptions constituted uncontextualised abuse and derogatory treatment of Pakistani people on the ground of their nationality in breach of Rule 3.3.” (abusive or derogatory treatment of individuals)

Ofcom expressed that it was legitimate to discuss Indo-Pak relations but the show promoted brazen hate and intolerance against Pakistan. “We did not accept the Licensee’s characterisation of the programme as a whole. We considered it included repeated instances of hate speech and abusive or derogatory treatment. It was therefore our Decision that this content met Ofcom’s definition of “hate speech” and that Rule 3.2 was breached.”

The Ofcom Broadcasting Code defines hate speech as all forms of expression which spread, incite, promote or justify hatred based on intolerance on the grounds of disability, ethnicity, gender, gender reassignment, nationality, race, religion, or sexual orientation.

Taking serious cognisance of the content of the show, the order further noted, “The programme contained statements which amounted to hate speech against, and was abusive and derogatory about, Pakistani people on the basis of their nationality. Under the Equality Act 2010, race is a protected characteristic, and race includes both nationality and ethnic or national origins. These statements would potentially be harmful and highly offensive to any person who did not share the sentiment being expressed by the presenter and his Indian guests. In Ofcom’s view, the potentially harmful and offensive nature of the content was compounded by the political context in which the episode of Poochta Hai Bharat was broadcast.”

The UK regulator dismissed the licensee’s arguments by saying that they demonstrated a concerning lack of understanding of what constitutes hate speech for the purposes of the Code. Ofcom, at the time of the broadcast, had already notified Worldview Network by a telephone call and by an email on August 21, 2019, about Ofcom receiving a number of complaints about the service including in relation to “highly pejorative references to members of the Pakistani community (e.g., continually referring to them as filthy)”. Ofcom asked the Licensee’s to comply with its obligation under the Code. It was therefore their view that appropriate steps were not taken by the Licensee to prevent this contravention.

As the material aired posed “a risk of harm to the Pakistani community in the UK, and to good relations particularly between members of the UK’s Indian and Pakistani communities”, Ofcom has directed Worldwide Media Network to air a public apology for the program and not to repeat the program.

Further, to establish some degree of deterrence, Ofcom imposed an “appropriate and proportionate sanction of £20,000.”

The Ofcom order dated December 22 may be read here:

Related:

Republic TV editor Arnab Goswami arrested in 2018 suicide abetment case

Arnab’s plea listed urgently in SC, Dushyant Dave alleges preferential treatment

Right to free speech does not mean a licence to promote hate speech: Editors Guild of India

Republic TV making TRP scam a “media spectacle”: Mumbai Police to SC

The post Goswami’s Republic Bharat pulled up for hate speech agnst Pakistan: UK regulator appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Editors Guild of India has issued a strong statement on the spate of first information reports being filed against journalists of Republic TV. The guild has stated that it is “pained to see the unedifying spectacle of hundreds of FIRs being filed against journalists of Republic TV, which is under probe for allegedly manipulating TRPs and spreading discontent against the Mumbai police.”

Adding that it did not wish to influence the probe by the authorities, “even if we recognise it has the potential to bring in much needed transparency on the manipulation of popularity, and creation of “ proceeds of crime”- as claimed by the police”, the guild has asked that “the victimization of the journalists should immediately stop”. It stated that “the use of arbitrary state power is not and has never been in the interests of working journalists,” while commenting that this ‘standoff’ between the Mumbai Police and the TV channel was “unprecedented and threatens the tenuous but important to maintain balance between media freedom and the imperative for it to reside within the rule of law.”

The EGI statement signed by Seema Mustafa (president), Sanjay Kapoor (general secretary) and Anant Nath (treasurer) added that the “right to free speech does not mean a licence to promote hate speech”. The guild has put on record that “besides the unsavoury details pertaining to the manipulation of TRPs, the Republic TV’s high-strung conduct during the unfortunate demise of film actor, Sushant Singh Rajput also raises issues about media credibility and the limits to reporting.

The Bombay High Court has pertinently asked the channel’s lawyer about harangue directed at actress Rhea Chakraborty. The High Court asked a question that must be addressed by all: “Is this part of investigative journalism? Asking the public about their opinion on who should be arrested?” Also, the bench wondered whether the channel in the name of investigative journalism was encroaching into the domain of police. Similar reservations about its conduct have been expressed even by News Broadcaster’s association (NBA) that disagrees with its reporting.

According to the Editors Guild of India, these important issues should have been resolved long ago, however, they “were allowed to fester”. It added that it was “high time” that the Republic TV channel behaves responsibly and does not compromise the safety of its journalists, or “hurt the collective credibility of media.”

The guild has also asked that the police ensure “that its investigation does not hurt the channel’s journalists or makes any arrests. And that the investigation does not become a tool to suppress media rights.”

The Editors Guild of India has issued a statement on FIRs that have been filed against journalists of Republic TV pic.twitter.com/tA4RFKDaBX

— Editors Guild of India (@IndEditorsGuild) October 26, 2020

It was just a month ago that even the Delhi High Court had told Republic TV

It was just a month ago that even the Delhi High Court had told Republic TV owner-editor-anchor Arnab Goswami to “bring down the rhetoric” and “respect the sanctity of criminal investigation”. This was in the case of a plea by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor seeking an interim injunction against Goswami to restrain him from broadcasting allegedly defamatory news reports on Sunanda Pushkar’s death. Tharoor’s wife had been found dead in 2014. Since then, whenever a chance arose, Arnab Goswami’s Channel Republic TV had run shows on the investigation, much like they are now doing in following the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

Justice Mukta Gupta had then noted that the media “can’t be allowed to run a parallel trial or make unsubstantiated claims”, adding that “You are not in the field of collecting evidence, you have no access to the evidence, do you even know how evidence is collected and appreciated in a criminal trial? Can the media act as an appellate authority?” 

According to news reports, advocate Kapil Sibal who appeared for Tharoor told the court that Goswami “is claiming in his shows that he has no doubts that Sunanda Pushkar was murdered”. These claims are being even made even though the chargesheet filed in the case made out no case for murder. “When a case under abetment for suicide is made out in the chargesheet, why are you still saying that murder has been committed? Were you there at the spot, are you an eyewitness? You must understand and respect the sanctity of criminal investigation and the various contours of it. Just because there’s a bite mark, it doesn’t amount to murder. Do you even know what constituted murder? You need to first understand what murder is before claiming that a murder took place,” the court told Republic TV warning it of “strict consequences” if its directives are not followed. In December 2017, an undertaking was given by counsel for Goswami that restraint would be shown and rhetoric would be brought down while covering the Sunanda Pushkar case.

Earlier this month, Supreme Court of India, has refused to entertain Arnab Goswami’s plea in the case of summons it got from Mumbai Police in connection with the TRP scam investigation. 

According to a report by India Today, the Mumbai Police opposed Republic TV’s petition in Supreme Court and stated that it was a “criminal investigation” and exemption cannot be sought in the name of freedom of expression. The Police have argued that an “accused person cannot decide or dictate the modalities of the investigation”.  Mumbai Police had stated that the other channels accused have been “cooperating in the police investigation, but Republic TV has been creating hurdles in the process”.

Related:

Republic TV making TRP scam a “media spectacle”: Mumbai Police to SC

Delhi High Court tells Arnab Goswami to calm down and stop his media trials

Bombay HC stays FIRs against Arnab Goswami

Arnab Goswami in hot water again: Widow of interior designer seeks justice in 2018 suicide abetment case

Maha gov’t moves SC accusing Arnab Goswami of ‘browbeating’ police

Delhi court orders FIR against Arnab Goswami for accessing confidential data

The post Right to free speech does not mean a licence to promote hate speech: Editors Guild of India appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Republic TV’s editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami’s first port of call when accused of a massive TRP scam, the Supreme Court of India, has refused to entertain his plea. The apex court has instead reportedly told the anchor to approach the Bombay High Court with his petition.

According to a report by India Today, the Mumbai Police has opposed Republic TV and Arnab Goswami’s petition in Supreme Court over the summons it issued to the channel’s top officials in connection with the TRP scam investigation. The IT reports that in its affidavit, Mumbai Police stated, “They seek rejection of the petition with a heavy penalty imposed on the petitioners.” Mumbai Police said this is a “criminal investigation” and exemption cannot be sought in the name of freedom of expression. The Police have also argued that an “accused person cannot decide or dictate the modalities of the investigation” said the news report.

The other other channels accused have been “cooperating in the police investigation, but Republic TV has been creating hurdles in the process” say the Mumbai Police. According to the IT report, this investigation into the alleged TRP scam where Republic TV is one of the biggest names accused “is still in its initial phase and cannot be handed over to CBI.”

Idiots at @republic got another tight slap ! This time from SC!

Moron Arnab should only be running around in courts and police station so that spreading of hate via his channel will slow down and people will get peace of mind ! pic.twitter.com/2sRjDYj3c7

— Vijay Thottathil (@vijaythottathil) October 15, 2020

Mumbai Police had summoned top office bearers of Republic TV Network for questioning in connection with the alleged TRP scam. Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh had alleged that three media outfits had rigged barometers set up by BARC in order to elicit higher TRPs for themselves. On Monday, the SC had also refused to entertain Arnab Goswami’s plea challenging the show cause notice issued by Maharashtra assembly saying it could do so “only after any action is taken.” On October 13, the Maharashtra Legislature secretariat had issued a notice to Arnab Goswami for “breach of privilege for submitting a copy of the proceedings of the Assembly in Supreme Court without the Speaker’s permission,” reported India Today. The Maharashtra Legislature secretariat had stated on Wednesday that it had asked Goswami to submit “a written clarification”.

Bar and Bench reported that Mumbai Police told the Supreme Court that Republic TV was making the TRP scam a “media spectacle”.  Mumbai Police said none of the other TV channels summoned “have raised any grievance with regard to the investigation.”

In an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court, the Mumbai Police said that “rights under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution cannot be used as a shield against commission of a crime.” Republic TV’s Chief Financial Officer S Sundaram had moved the Supreme Court challenging the summons issued to the network in relation to the TRP scam claimed to have been unearthed by Mumbai Police reported Bar and Bench. This petition filed in the Apex Court challenges the October 9 summons issued to the CFO of the Republic Media Network in relation to investigation in FIR CR No. 143 of 2020.

Mumbai Police have termed the writ petition as a gross abuse of process of law, and urged the Court to “dismiss the plea with exemplary costs.” The Bar and Bench quotes from the affidavit: “Any investigation in an alleged crime by an investigating agency cannot be urged as a ground for violation of rights under Article 19 (1) (a). Article 19 (1) (a) cannot be used to side-step, thwart, or prevent any investigation by a competent agency into the alleged fudging of the TRP ratings. Right under 19(1)(a) is not a shield which can be used against the commission of any crime under the extant criminal law of the land.”

According to Bar and Bench, the police affidavit states that Republic TV had been conducting debates regarding the TRP scam and has been “contacting witnesses” who are being summoned by the police to investigate the case and that “petitioners are directly interfering and intimidating the witnesses by issuing news releases” ADDING  “Such a media trial is antithetic to the process of free and fair investigation as also administration of justice.”

Related: 

Republic TV, two others accused of TRP fraud

Delhi High Court tells Arnab Goswami to calm down and stop his media trials

Bombay HC stays FIRs against Arnab Goswami

Arnab Goswami in hot water again: Widow of interior designer seeks justice in 2018 suicide abetment case

Maha gov’t moves SC accusing Arnab Goswami of ‘browbeating’ police

The post Republic TV making TRP scam a “media spectacle”: Mumbai Police to SC appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Just yesterday, Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Minister Prakash Javadekar had called out sections of the Indian media and said that a “re-think on TRPs” was needed, adding that “responsible journalism should not suffer due to the pressure of TRP”.

We believe in self regulation and freedom of the media. But media needs to re-think on TRPs. There should be a better way to monitor popularity. Responsible journalism should not suffer due to the pressure of TRP.

— Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) October 7, 2020

Twenty-four hours later, right-wing inclined news channel Republic TV and its owner Arnab Goswami have been accused of TRP fraud along with two other channels. Mumbai Police told the media that they have uncovered a TRP fraud racket by Republic TV, and will soon question its owner and editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami over it. The announcement was made by Mumbai police chief Paramvir Singh himself, who added that the bank accounts of Republic TV and the other two accused channels, who he said were ‘small time channels’ will also be investigated. 

Singh said the owner, directors will soon be called for further investigations into the TRP fraud where they are accused of spreading “fake narratives and gaining ad revenues”. According to NDTV, the Mumbai police have already arrested two persons, one of them is a former employee of an agency that installed “people metres” in homes to assess Television Rating Points or TRPs.

Republic TV has been claiming high TRPs, even as it has focused most of its reportage on the aftermath of the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. According to the Mumbai Police chief the TRP rigging scam came to light after an analysis on manipulation of news trends and how a “false narrative” was spread. Singh told the media that the findings have “been shared with the central government,” adding that the “biggest name to emerge is Republic TV. The directors and promoters of Republic TV are being investigated for ratings fraud.” 

While the three accused channels’ bank accounts will be investigated, Singh added that the probe will also look at the funds they receive from advertisers and “whether they are from proceeds of crimes”. More channels could also be examined, he said. NDTV reports that when Singh was asked if the inquiry would include Arnab Goswami, the Editor-in-Chief of Republic, he said, “Anyone involved in the channel, no matter how much in the top, how senior, will be questioned, and if involved they will be investigated. No one, no matter how senior, will escape.”

Singh also said that household data being revealed to channels and being used to manipulate ratings, “based on these ratings they received illegal advertising funds. This will be considered proceeds of cheating. There was false TRP spreading. TRP ratings were being bought. The manipulation was mainly for advertising revenues.” It is being reported that former employees of Hansa, the agency that placed “ratings metres” in select households, shared confidential data with the three channels.

The police added that the accused media organisations allegedly bribed the households to keep their channel switched on all the time. “If you see the data, poor uneducated households that don’t speak English were watching only English TV channels,” Singh is quoted by news reports as claiming that people were offered a “monthly payment of Rs 400-500 for their role in pushing up ratings.” 

Meanwhile, Arnab Goswami, the Editor-in-Chief of Republic, has responded that he will “sue the Mumbai Police commissioner”.  Goswami claimed that the top cop was making false allegations “because we have questioned him in the Sushant Singh Rajput case investigation”. He issued  a statement seeking a “public apology” from the police

Republic Media Network’s Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami’s statement pic.twitter.com/axhbJZ47eA

— Republic (@republic) October 8, 2020

The other two channels are identified as Fast Marathi and Box Cinema, and according to a report in India Today, they have been arrested for TRP fraud. The Criminal Intelligence Unit of the Crime Branch arrested the two TV channel owners and seized 28.5 lakh rupees from them, reported IT. 

The TRP ratings of Republic Media’s Republic Bharat had shot up exponentially raising suspicions of foul play, stated India Today adding that Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), the body that gives rating points to TV channels in India, had earlier suspected Republic TV of manipulating the system. Hansa Research, the company that installed these rating boxes called barometers on behalf of BARC, had filed a case with the Mumbai Police saying some of Hansa Research’s former employees had leaked or sold the data of the households where these barometers were installed. The data about these households are closely guarded and supposed to be top secret.

Related:

Delhi High Court tells Arnab Goswami to calm down and stop his media trials
Bombay HC stays FIRs against Arnab Goswami
Arnab Goswami in hot water again: Widow of interior designer seeks justice in 2018 suicide abetment case
Maha gov’t moves SC accusing Arnab Goswami of ‘browbeating’ police

The post Republic TV, two others accused of TRP fraud appeared first on SabrangIndia.

All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) had issued a letter accusing the channel of falsely accusing the Jamaat-e-Islami India chief Maulana Jalaluddin Umri of being a terrorist.

New Delhi: Arnab Goswami’s Republic TV issues a corrigendum and apology on Sunday for hurting the sentiments of Muslims with a provocative and biased report.
 
All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) had issued a letter accusing the channel of falsely accusing the Jamaat-e-Islami India chief Maulana Jalaluddin Umri of being a terrorist.
 
Taking exception to the channel’s ‘mischief,’ several Muslim groups including All India Muslim Personal Law Board wrote a letter to the channel condemning its act and demanding an immediate apology.
 
 

 
Realizing the consequences of reporting fake news, Republic TV apologized and released a statement on Sunday.
 
“CORRIGENDUM & APOLOGY for taking a wrong image of Maulana Syed Jalaluddin Umri carried on Republic TV at 4:03 PM. It was an inadvertent error, the video editor concerned carried the wrong image which was wrongly broadcast once & immediately corrected,” their tweet read.

 
A primetime apology is yet to be issued by Republic TV.
 
While posting its letter, the AIMPLB wrote, “We strongly condemn @republic channel for falsely accusing Ml Jalaluddin Umri, the vice president of @AIMPLB_Official, of being a terrorist. We also condemn @CNNnews18. It has committed blasphemy against Madjids in Mecca, Madina and Quds. Both channels must apologize.”
 
The letter by the AIMPLB also condemned CNN-News18 for committing ‘blasphemy’ by linking three of the holiest sites for Muslims to Jaish chief Masood Azhar’s ‘terror factory.’
 
The channel used the images of the three holy mosques with a super titled ‘JeM terror factories,’ outraging Muslims across the world. Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Group owns CNN-News18.
 
In its broadcast on Saturday, the channel claimed to unearth the property details of Jaish chief Masood Azhar, the man behind the Pulwama terror attack. While flashing the headlines ‘JeM terror factory in Bahawalpur,’ the channel showed the photos of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, a mosque in Madina and Al-Aqsa implying that they were part of Azhar’s terror factory. These mosques are considered to be the three of the holiest sites for Muslims around the world, Janta Ka Reporter said in its report.
 
Responding with their clarification, CNN-News18 said in a tweet that the images were used by JeM in their propaganda video and they had the JeM watermark on them so the ire should be directed at JeM.

The statement by CNN-News18 defended its decision to broadcast the three most revered mosques (Makkah, Madina and Al-Aqsa) for Muslims under the ‘JeM terror factory’ headline.
 
The statement said that any criticism should be directed at the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) since the channel had sourced the images of the Holy mosques from the outfits’ propaganda video.
 
The statement said, “The footage used in our broadcast is clearly watermarked with a JeM logo and was clearly referred to as a propaganda video. The use of the video has drawn ire from certain quarters. But given the context it was used, any religious offence and outrage should be directed at the JeM.”

Many on social media felt that a clarification instead of an apology was not enough as they should have not broadcast sensitive material irresponsibly.
 

The post Republic TV’s Twitter apology for hurting Muslim sentiments is not enough appeared first on SabrangIndia.

TCN News

When the news of the incident and the subsequent firing by a relative of the BJP MLA and charging 14 students of the AMU under sedition reached the alumni of the University in different parts of the world, the Alumni associations were quick to conduct emergency meetings to decide on the plan of action to protect their alma-mater.

The Alumni of AMU have their associations in various parts of the world such as Malaysia, Australia, England, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Canada and the United States of America.

AMU alumni UAE

The Alumni associations in Saudi Arabia and UAE have both penned petition to the President of India drawing his attention to the unfortunate incident and the malicious intention of the Republic TV that is known for being biased and pro- Hindutva groups and always seeking to criticise the minorities and defame them by resorting to slander.

This incident has hurt the sentiments of the old students and they have decided to start an international campaign against the atrocious attempt to malign the university by the right winged groups.

They are also concerned about the false charges of sedition leveled at the students whereas no action has been taken against the perpetrators who opened fire and called the University as University of terrorists and dubbed the students as terrorists.

AMU Alumni, Saudi Arabia

The Aligarh Muslim University, says the alumni has been a revered seat of learning and knowledge dissemination for students from all religion, caste and creed.

The letter addressed to the President has been also marked to the Prime Minister, Chief Justice, HRD Minister of India, the Vice Chancellor, District Magistrate  and PRO chancellor of AMU.

Courtesy: Two Circle.net
 

The post AMU Alumni associations request the President of India to ‘protect AMU from being maligned’ appeared first on SabrangIndia.