NewsClick row: Founder, HR and Editor-in-chief move SC challenging arrest under UAPA Act
NewsClick row: After receiving a major setback from High Court as the court rejected their pleas and said it is of the view that "the fact that serious offences affecting the stability, integrity, sovereignty and national security have been alleged against the petitioner, this Court is not inclined to pass any favourable orders, Newsclick officials now moved Supreme Court.
Newsclick founder and Editor-in-Chief Prabir Purkayastha and the website's human resources head Amit Chakraborty on Monday approached the Supreme Court challenging their arrest and detention under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) over alleged Chinese funding to promote anti-national propaganda.
Representing the petitioners, circulate the papers of the case and it would take a call on listing the matter, a bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra asked senior advocate Kapil Sibal said, "This is the NewsClick matter... the journalists are in police custody... a 70-year old plus man is in custody."
Notably, Purkayastha and Chakraborty moved the apex court challenging the Delhi High Court's order upholding the trial court order remanding them to police custody. They have since been remanded to judicial custody.
On October 3, the Founder, HR and Editor-in-chief were arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police after it searched 30 locations connected with the online news portal and its journalists in a case filed under the UAPA following allegations that it received money for pro-China propaganda.
Purkayastha and Chakravarty subsequently moved the High Court challenging the arrest as well as the 7-day police custody and sought immediate release as an interim relief.
The probe agency also alleged that Purkayastha conspired with a group - People's Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS) - to sabotage the electoral process during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
- With inputs from agencies
