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Jolt for NewsClick founder, HR head in Delhi HC over police remand in UAPA case
Delhi HC on Friday dismissed NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and human resource head Amit Chakraborty’s plea challenging their arrest and police remand.
The Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and human resource head Amit Chakraborty’s plea challenging their arrest by Delhi police and the trial court’s order to remand them for seven days in police custody. Justice Tushar Rao Gedela while dismissing the plea said that the court “does not find any merit in either of the petitions”.
On Monday, the same bench had reserved the order after hearing at length the matter from all sides.
Read more: Raid on NewsClick: Anurag Thakur reacts; Opposition questions Delhi Police
Purkayastha and Chakravarty were arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police on October 3 in connection with the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for allegedly receiving money to spread pro-China propaganda. This came nearly two months after an investigation published in The New York Times (NYT) alleged that the online portal was part of a global network that received money from American billionaire Neville Roy Singham for pushing Chinese propaganda.
According to the FIR, a large amount of funds to the news portal allegedly came from China to "disrupt the sovereignty of India" and cause disaffection against the country. It also alleged that Purkayastha conspired with a group - People's Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS) - to sabotage the electoral process during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
On October 10, a trial court sent Purkayastha and Chakraborty to judicial custody for ten days.
Raids on NewsClick
Last week, a special cell of the Delhi Police held searches at the office of the online portal NewsClick and journalists associated with it. The raids quickly spread out to at least 35 locations across Delhi, Noida, Gurugram, Mumbai, and Ghaziabad with the Delhi police questioning 46 people including journalists, freelancers, writers, and satirists for around eight hours, and confiscating their laptops and mobile phones.
(With inputs from agencies)
