[TRP Scam] "Republic TV targeted but no probe against India Today:" PIL in Bombay High Court to transfer investigation from Mumbai Police to CBI

A plea has been moved before the Bombay High Court by Punekar Nagrik Kruti Samiti , a non-governmental organisation, seeking transfer of investigation into Television Rating Points scam (TRP Scam) from the Mumbai Police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). .The petitioner has submitted that it has been constrained to approach the High Court because of the State government's decision to cancel general consent for CBI to conduct investigation in the State of Maharashtra..The petitioner organisation has stated that after the State of UP transferred the TRP investigation to CBI, it was only desirable and imperative for the State of Maharashtra to have entrusted the investigation to the Mumbai Police..The plea also highlighted that the Sushant Singh Rajput investigation was also transferred to the CBI by the Supreme Court..“Because under the garb of ‘investigation’ constitutional rights, freedom of press and right to information is sought to be censored and selected media houses are being targeted as the state government and the state government have their own axes to grind," the petition states. .The petitioner has claimed that Mumbai Police seems to be over-burdened and always claims that they are short of manpower and that is the reason assigned for growing crime rate in the city..“The police all over the country over a period of time have been getting emboldened because of the faith which was earlier imposed by the constitutional courts thinking that everything is being investigated strictly in accordance with law and that the men in uniform could do no wrong. However, our experience has shown that the cases which are required to be investigated are not investigated and the cases which are to be investigated, not even FIRs are registered. Even if the cases are registered they are not investigated with objectivity. Section of Indian Penal Code and other statutes are added unnecessarily to make the cases strong and certain sections which ought to be added are not added to dilute the cases with a view to enure benefits to the accused. The police has been found to be increasingly trampling upon the constitutional rights of the citizen of this country with impunity,” the petition has said..Petitioner has claimed that the State government and the Commissioner of Police seems to have forged an alliance in targeting Republic TV instead of embarking upon to investigate India Today channel which has been named in the First Information Report (FIR). .“This is nothing but vindictiveness which certainly cannot be permitted in a country where the rule of law prevails,” the petitioner has contended. .The plea has also alleged that the police, under the garb of conducting investigation, is sending a message that media houses ought to toe the line dictated by the police..The plea will be heard tomorrow by a Bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice GS Kulkarni.