NewsClick founder Prabir Purakayastha’s arrest under UAPA invalid’: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court ordered the immediate release of NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha, who was arrested under a UAPA case, on Wednesday. The court declared that both the arrest and subsequent remand of Purkayastha were invalid. A bench comprising Justice BR Gavi and Justice Sandeep Mehta determined that the remand application and the grounds for arrest were not provided to Purkayastha or his counsel before the trial court made its decision on his custody.

However, since a charge sheet has been filed in the case by Delhi police, the top court directed Prabir Purkayastha’s release on bail on conditions to be fixed by the trial court.

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NewsClick Founder Arrested for Alleged Foreign Funding and Election Sabotage Plot

The Special Cell of Delhi Police arrested NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and HR head Amit Chakravarty on October 3 last year. They were charged with accepting money from China to “disrupt India’s sovereignty” and incite disaffection against the country. The FIR stated that a significant portion of the funds used to operate the news site originated from China.

Police claimed Purkayastha conspired with a group — People’s Alliance for Democracy and Secularism — to sabotage the electoral process during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

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Extensive Raids and Seizures Conducted

Raids were conducted at 88 locations in Delhi and seven in other states on October 3 on the suspects named in the FIR and those that surfaced in the analysis of data, police said. Around 300 electronic gadgets were also seized from the offices of NewsClick and the residences of the journalists who were examined.

Under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, an independent authority makes a recommendation to the competent authority (central or state government) about prosecuting an accused after reviewing the evidence gathered by the investigating agency. It is for the competent authority to decide whether or not to grant sanction.

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