Delhi HC reserves order on NewsClick founder's plea against arrest
The Delhi High Court on Monday reserved its order on the pleas by NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and HR head Amit Chakravarty against their arrest under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, India Today reported. The court will likely decide on further remand hearings on Tuesday. Last week, the Delhi Police detained Purkayastha and Chakravarty after raiding several locations linked to NewsClick and its journalists. They were accused of accepting funds from China to promote its propaganda and undermine India's sovereignty.
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This comes days after Purkayastha and Chakravarty were sent to a seven-day police remand after being arrested by the Delhi Police on October 3. They are accused of receiving money to spread pro-China propaganda. The police have already raided over 80 places and questioned nearly 50 journalists. They also seized their digital data and dossiers. Notably, the Delhi Police reportedly received inputs concerning foreign funding from the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which prompted preliminary raids on the NewsClick premises.
Purkayastha's counsel raised legal issues during hearing
During the hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Purkayastha, reportedly stressed that they were not given the reasons for their arrest. On the police's behalf, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta responded that the arrest grounds were mentioned in the remand application. Sibal, however, denied that his client received any money from China. He argued that the focus should be on whether the arrest grounds were served or not since the only document provided to them was the arrest memo.
Mehta mentions email from China
Meanwhile, Mehta also reportedly mentioned NewsClick's alleged email conversation with someone in China, where the discussion revolved around displaying a map featuring Jammu and Kashmir, using a phrase commonly used by the Chinese to refer to the "northern border of India." He also reportedly claimed that around Rs. 75 crore allegedly came from an individual living in China, supposedly to challenge India's stability and integrity. Mehta added two main issues now need examination: the arrest and the police remand.
Purkayastha's counsel refutes allegations
Countering the SG's claims, Sibal dismissed the argument about J&K and supposedly receiving funds from China. Sibal also noted that their lawyer was not given an opportunity to argue these points. On the other hand, Mehta informed the high court that the Centre plans to file a review plea against the Supreme Court's Pawan Bansal verdict, which mandated providing the arrest grounds to the accused in writing.
