Prabir Purkayastha and the news portal’s HR head Amit Chakravarty stand accused of receiving foreign funds from China to disrupt India's sovereignty and cause disaffection against the country.
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and the company’s HR head Amit Chakravarty have approached the Supreme Court challenging a recent Delhi High Court order dismissing their plea against arrest in a case under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), a Press Trust of India (PTI) report said on Monday.
Last week, a Delhi High Court bench led by Justice Tushar Rao Gedela had said it “found no merit” in Purkayastha and Chakravarty’s pleas and refused to interfere with the duo’s arrest and subsequent police remand.
There was no “procedural infirmity” or violation of legal or constitutional provisions in relation to the arrest and the remand order is sustainable in law, Justice Gedela said.
“The petition, being devoid of any merit, along with pending applications, is dismissed,” said the court in its order.
The petitioners, besides challenging their arrest over non-supply of the reasons for it, had also contended that the subsequent remand order sending them to 7-day police custody was passed in the absence of their lawyers.
It was also alleged that there was an “obvious discrepancy” in the trial court’s remand order because while the order recorded 6 am as the time of pronouncement, in terms of the high court rules, Purkayastha’s lawyer was sent the remand application through WhatsApp only at 7 am.
The court, however, noted that offences under UAPA directly impact the stability, integrity and sovereignty of the country and are of the most importance since they affect national security. It said the arrestee only needed to be informed about the grounds of arrest within 24 hours of being apprehended.
The Delhi Police arrested Purkayastha and Chakravarty after raids at nearly 88 locations related to the premises of NewsClick and its journalists. They stand accused of receiving foreign funds from China to disrupt India’s sovereignty and cause disaffection against the country.
