Prasar Bharati files FIR over leaked Sudhir Chaudhary contract note

New Delhi: Prasar Bharati has filed a police complaint over the alleged leak of a confidential agenda note regarding the onboarding of the production house of television anchor Sudhir Chaudhary.

Senior journalist Swati Chaturvedi took to X on Saturday to share a copy of the police complaint filed by DD News Director Ritesh Chaudhary with the Tilak Marg police station.

Chaturvedi had previously shared screenshots of the note on X, which were submitted to the police by DD News as evidence.

“A confidential agenda note meant to be submitted to the Prasar Bharati Board was leaked and found circulating on social media. It is possible that the document was leaked through WhatsApp from within the organisation itself. It is requested that an FIR be filed to identify the source of the leak to the media and that the matter be duly investigated,” the police complaint stated.

Sharing the complaint letter, Chaturvedi wrote: “Oh no, I upset @prasarbharati & their ‘secret plan’ by exposing the sweetheart deal of Rs 15 crore to ex-jailbird Sudhir Chowdhary. Instead of cancelling the loot at taxpayer expense, they have chosen to shoot the messenger & file a police complaint against me.”

Oh no I upset ⁦⁦@prasarbharati⁩ & their “secret plan” by exposing the sweetheart deal of ₹ 15 crores to ex jail bird Sudhir Chowdhary. Instead, of cancelling the loot at tax payer expense they have chosen to shoot the messenger & file a police complaint against me pic.twitter.com/Bcf7v1bIDB

— Swati Chaturvedi (@bainjal) March 29, 2025

Sharing a copy of a notice received by Delhi Police asking about the source of the note, Chaturvedi said that she will never reveal the source.

I have told the ⁦@DelhiPolice⁩ officials who wanted to know my source that I would never reveal my source. ⁦@AmitShah⁩ what a waste of police resources. Stop the loot of tax payer ₹ 15 cr gift to jail bird Chowdhary by ⁦@prasarbharati⁩ pic.twitter.com/o092XFKv5O

— Swati Chaturvedi (@bainjal) March 29, 2025

Commenting on Chaturvedi's post, Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale said he would discuss this within the Parliament Committee on IT and demand that Prasar Bharati be summoned for an urgent hearing.

I’m going to discuss this within the committee & demand that @prasarbharati be summoned for an urgent hearing.

We need to get to the root of this & also send a message that hounding a journalist to hide a deal with a hate monger will NEVER be tolerated.

Pls stay strong!

— Saket Gokhale MP (@SaketGokhale) March 29, 2025

Weeks before Chaturvedi shared the screenshots of the letter on X, news about the commissioning of a one-hour daily news bulletin to the ‘controversial’ television anchor for an annual fee of Rs 15 crore had already become public.

The ‘confidential’ note had been circulating on WhatsApp long before Chaturvedi posted the screenshots on her X handle.

The matter rocked Parliament on Tuesday when Trinamool Congress MP Sagarika Ghose called out Prasar Bharati in a Rajya Sabha speech over its decision to rope in the ‘tainted and jailed’ television anchor Sudhir Chaudhary.

Making a Zero Hour mention in the Rajya Sabha, the journalist-turned-politician expressed concern over Doordarshan’s recent Rs 15-crore-per-annum contract with Chaudhary, without naming him directly.

“Seven decades after independence, India deserves a truly world-class public broadcaster as envisaged in the 1990 Prasar Bharati Act. Sadly, though, there are reports that Doordarshan has entered into a lucrative contract with a private individual (an apparent reference to Sudhir Chaudhary), who indulges in deeply divisive, incendiary, and hate-mongering language on television, and who has faced two jail terms on criminal charges of extortion. It is highly disturbing to note that individuals with such terribly tainted records can become part of our proud national broadcaster,” she said.

As the pubcaster approaches the police to identify the source within Prasar Bharati who leaked the note to the media, such leaks appear to be rampant within the organisation.

Last month, the pubcaster faced significant scrutiny over the alleged leak of information regarding the disqualification of two regional broadcasters bidding under Bucket R1 during the e-auctions for DD Free Dish slots.

The disqualified broadcasters subsequently dragged Prasar Bharati to court.

Also read: Bidding strategy flaws or conspiracy? The backstory of DD Freedish auction crisis

With a massive drop in the bidding prices starting Round 2 of e-auctions for MPEG-2 slots, the pubcaster received complaints regarding information leaks as well as cartelisation.

The number of slots sold this year was lower than the 64 slots auctioned in 2024, confirming market intelligence about fewer bidders participating in the latest e-auctions.

it is estimated that the revenues from e-auctions for 2025-26 were down by Rs 200-300 crore.

Last year, Prasar Bharati earned approximately Rs 1,157 crore by selling 64 MPEG-2 slots. In 2023, it had made Rs 1,071 crore from the e-auctions.