NewsClick arrests: Delhi High Court seeks reply from Delhi Police on plea by Prabir Purkayastha against UAPA FIR

The Delhi High Court on Friday issued notice to the Delhi Police on a plea filed by NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha challenging the first information report (FIR) registered by the Delhi Police against him under provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA)..Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma issued notice despite opposition from the Delhi Police.Advocate Zoheb Hossain appeared for the police and said that he was opposing even the issuance of notice.He said that there has been a subsequent development in the case as one of the accused, former NewsClick Human Resources (HR) head Amit Chakraborty, has turned an approver. Hossein added that the offences alleged were prima facie made out against the accused.The submission was opposed by Senior Advocate Dayan Krishnan who appeared for Purkayastha..Justice Sharma pointed out that the Court will have to issue notice in order to consider the Delhi Police's reply. “If I don’t issue notice, how will I look into your reply? How will I even read that… Why should I adopt a different procedure? What difference does it make if I issue notice,” the Court remarked.Ultimately, the Court issued notice in the matter and listed the case for further consideration in July. .Notably, Purkayasthan’s plea had been listed on four occasions but no notice was issued by the Court until today.Purkayastha and Chakraborty’s petitions challenging their arrest and remand were rejected by the High Court on October 13, 2023. This order has been challenged before the Supreme Court and that appeal is still pending before the top court. .Purkayastha and Chakraborty were arrested following a series of raids that were conducted in the wake of allegations made in a New York Times article that NewsClick was being paid to boost Chinese propaganda.As per the FIR, the accused illegally received crores of rupees in foreign funds and deployed the same with an intention to disrupt the sovereignty, unity and security of India.The FIR said that secret inputs suggest that substantial foreign funds were illegally funneled into India by both Indian and foreign entities. These funds, amounting to crores of rupees, were received by Newsclick through illegal means over a span of five years.The funds were fraudulently infused by Neville Roy Singham, allegedly an active member of the Communist Party of China's propaganda department, through a complex network of entities, it was further alleged.