SC Holds Arrest of NewsClick's Prabir Purkayastha ‘Illegal’

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday held as illegal the arrest and remand of NewsClick founder and Editor-in Chief Prabir Purkayastha in connection with a case under the draconian anti-terror law UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act).

“A good day for independent media, “posted NewClick on X, in its first reaction to the SC’s order.

A good day for independent media!#PrabirPurkayastha #NewsClick pic.twitter.com/e3h5AoMtDP

— NewsClick (@newsclickin) May 15, 2024

Purkayastha and the administrative head of the news portal, Amit Chakraborty were arrested in an early morning swoop and raids by the Delhi Police Special Cell on October 3, 2023, in the homes of close to 80 journalists, contributors, freelancers and staff. Chakraborty was released recently after he turned and approver this January.

The raids followed allegations, without evidence, made in an article that appeared in the New York Times that the portal was being funded by the Chinese government to ‘spread propaganda”.

On Wednesday, the apex court’s bench of  Justices B R Gavai and Sandeep Mehta said that Purkayastha, 77, be released subject to him furnishing a surety and bail bond, said a report by Bar & Bench. The court said  Purkayastha could have been released without a surety but since a chargesheet has been filed in the case, he would have to give surety. The 8,000-word chargesheet in the case was filed in April-end, which was termed as “concocted” and “baseless” by NewsClick. A Delhi court is set to hear the matter on May 31, on framing of charges.

The court noted that a copy of the remand application was not provided to Purkayastha or his counsel before passing the remand order on October 4, 2023, thereby violating the principles of natural justice.

"Copy of the remand application was not provided to the appellant. This vitiates the arrest of the appellant following Pankaj Bansal case," the order said, according to the report.

As per the FIR lodged after the NYT report, Purkayastha is alleged to have "illegally" received crores of rupees in foreign funds and used the same with an intention to "disrupt the sovereignty, unity and security of India."  The events listed as “disruptive” include the anti-CAA protests, the farmers’ movement, criticism of the government over its handling of Covid and the sudden lockdown, among others. Newsclick and its funder have maintained that all the funds have come through the legal route.

In a statement, NewsClick said that the chargesheet was “nothing but a set of opinions of the investigating officer parading as 'allegations'. These allegations will be firmly contested by NewsClick and Prabir.”

NewsClick reiterated that the investigations by the Delhi Police and other agencies were attempts to target “our independent journalism”, adding that all the “allegations levelled against us are concocted and baseless. These allegations are based on the statements of ‘protected witnesses’ which have to be proved in Court. There is no corroborative material to support these statements…”

The targeting of independent media outfits and journalists that provide coverage of dissent has become a concerning trend in India – corroborated by the worsening press freedom index of the country, which has dipped further to 159 in the World Press Freedom Index -2024.