Delhi High Court Reserves Order On NewsClick Founder, HR Head’s Plea Challenging Arrests

The Delhi High Court on Monday reserved its order on the pleas filed by NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and HR head Amit Chakraborty challenging their arrest by the Delhi Police Special Cell and their remand under the UAPA. The Bench of Justice Tushar Rao Gedela reserved the order after hearing the matter from all sides at length with Purkayastha and Chakraborty challenging their arrest, FIR against them and seven-day remand custody.

Last week, the Delhi Police Special Cell raided 88 locations related to the news portal and its journalists under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act after which Purkayastha and Chakravarty were arrested. An FIR was also lodged against the news portal under sections 13, 16,17, 18 and 22C of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and 153A, and 120B of the Indian Penal Code. 

In its FIR against the news outlet, the Delhi Police alleged that foreign funds were infused illegally in India in pursuance of a conspiracy in an attempt to disrupt sovereignty.

NewsClick rejected the allegations leveled against it by the Delhi Police in its FIR saying that the case was registered to “muzzle the free and independent press in India”. 

“The NewsClick has not received any funding or instructions from China or Chinese entities. Further, NewsClick has never committed or sought to encourage violence, seccession or any illegal act in any manner whatsoever,” it said in a post on X. 

“A perusal of NewsClick’s coverage, which is freely available online, should be sufficient to indicate the veracity of NewsClick’s claims,” it added.

The news portal further said: “The allegations in the FIR, apart from being ex facie untenable and bogus, have been made time and again, in investigations by three government agencies – the Enforcement Directorate, the Economic Offences Wing, Delhi Police, and the income tax department.”

It also said that none of the probe led to any chargesheet and that the editor-in-chief was also granted interim protection and added that the latest FIR was registered to bypass that and make the arrests “illegally” under UAPA.