Patiala House Court in Delhi has extended the judicial custody of NewsClick’s founder and Editor-in-Chief, Prabir Purkayastha, and HR head Amit Chakravarty until October 25. This follows an earlier 10-day remand by the court. The pair were apprehended by Delhi Police under the anti-terror law, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, over claims that NewsClick received substantial funding for promoting pro-China content.
Purkayastha’s attorney contended the allegations, citing a previous protection from the Delhi High Court in 2021 and challenging the rationale behind labelling journalistic activities as terrorism. The lawyer said, “If I through any article raised questions against the Central Government’s COVID policy, is that an act of terrorism?” The defence also highlighted Purkayastha’s reputation as a distinguished journalist and raised concerns about his association with fellow journalist Gautam Navlakha, which seems to be the basis for the UAPA charges.
Meanwhile, Advocate Rohit Sharma, representing Chakravarty, emphasised that Chakravarty is not involved in content creation and questioned the reasons for his arrest, highlighting that he handles administrative tasks.
The Special Cell of Delhi Police alleges that NewsClick, via the People’s Dispatch Portal, propagated misleading narratives for monetary gains from illicitly channelled foreign funds. The police FIR suggests that both Indian and foreign entities funnelled these funds to India with malicious intent to undermine the country’s sovereignty and unity.