Court takes cognizance of CBI chargesheet against Sunil Lulla; summons

New Delhi: A special court in Lucknow took cognizance of the chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against former BARC India CEO Sunil Lulla, CBI sources confirmed the development with NewsDrum.in.

“The special court took cognizance of the CBI chargesheet in the TRP scam case on Thursday, February 2,” said a source.

The court also summoned Lulla to appear on March 9 for framing of charges, the source added.

CBI is investigating the TRP scam case following a complaint forwarded by the Yogi Adityanath government. The agency took over a case of fake TRPs being probed by the Uttar Pradesh Police on October 20, 2020.

Following its investigation of the case, CBI registered a separate case on November 24 and filed the chargesheet against the former BARC CEO.

The chargesheet accuses Lulla of reducing the rating numbers of India Today TV without any vigilance proof. 

CBI also accused Lulla of offering a preview of viewership data to Star India on a gratis basis, among other charges, yet to be framed by the special court.

In a statement released in December, Lulla’s spokesperson said, “Mr Sunil Lulla has been a high integrity professional in his entire career and has an unblemished track record. His conduct has been as per BARC policies & procedures and all the allegations made against him are totally false. We have complete faith in the rule of law and the Hon'ble courts.”