NewsClick Row: Delhi HC Rejects Founder’s Plea Challenging Arrest

The Delhi High Court on Friday refused to intervene in the arrest and subsequent police remand of Prabir Purkayastha, the founder of NewsClick, and Amit Chakravarty, the head of the portal’s human resources department.

They were arrested in a case filed under the anti-terror law UAPA.

A single bench of Justice Tushar Rao Gedela dismissed their plea, stating, “The court does not find merit in both petitions.”

The two were arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police on October 3. They had moved the high court to challenge the arrest and their 7-day police custody, seeking immediate release as an interim measure.

On October 10, the trial court remanded them to judicial custody for ten days. The case against them is based on the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and alleges that they received funds from China to spread pro-China propaganda with the intent to disrupt India’s sovereignty and create disaffection against the country.

The FIR also accuses Purkayastha of conspiring with a group called the People’s Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS) to sabotage the electoral process during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.