The Delhi High Court has upheld the trial court order which approved police remand for NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and HR head Amit Chakraborty, LiveLaw reported.
Justice Tushar Rao Gedela reportedly said that the court did not find merit in the petitions filed by Purkayastha and Chakraborty challenging the remand in the UAPA case.
During the hearing, Purkayastha’s counsel Kapil Sibal had asserted that he was not provided with the grounds of arrest, and that NewsClick received “not a penny” from China.
Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, representing the Delhi police, said that the duo were “informed” about the grounds of arrest. He said the allegations involved a funding of Rs 75 crore to “ensure that the stability and integrity of the country is compromised”.
Earlier this week, the CBI also lodged an FIR against NewsClick over allegations of foreign funding violations.
NewsClick has denied all the allegations against it and has termed the police action last week as an attempt to “stifle fearless voices”. It has repeatedly refused that it took funds or directions from Chinese entities.
Sixteen press groups earlier wrote to the Chief Justice of India, demanding that the “increasingly repressive use” of investigating agencies against the media be stopped.
Purkayastha and NewsClick’s HR head Amit Chakraborty were arrested on October 3.
The Enforcement Directorate had earlier attached the portal’s assets after initiating a probe into its funding. This was after The New York Times alleged the news site was among Chinese propaganda outlets funded by American tech mogul Neville Roy Singham.
The Delhi Police also filed a UAPA case days after the NYT report. In the run up to the arrests, the Delhi police raided over 30 locations and questioned more than 35 journalists. Their electronic devices were also seized.
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