Supreme Court seeks Delhi Police’s response on petitions filed by NewsClick founder and HR head

The Supreme Court has sought the Delhi Police’s response to petitions filed by NewsClick founder and Editor Prabir Purkayastha and HR head Amit Chakravarty challenging their arrest in the UAPA case.

After the Delhi High Court refused to offer them any respite, the Supreme Court stated on Wednesday that it would hear Purkayastha and Chakravarty's separate petitions against their arrest under anti-terror law UAPA on October 19. The court agreed to hold the next hearing on October 30.

A panel of Justices BR Gavai and Prashant Kumar Mishra, who heard the petitions, told senior lawyers Kapil Sibal and Devadatt Kamat, who represented Purkayastha and Chakravarty, respectively, that it needed to read the petitions. "We need to go over the files.We will hear both cases tomorrow," Justice Gavai remarked.

After Sibal brought the petition before the bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud on October 16, the Supreme Court agreed to hear it promptly. The CJI had instructed Kapil Sibal to circulate the case documents and stated that he would decide whether to list the matter urgently. The Editor and HR head of NewsClick moved to the Supreme Court after their appeals against their arrest and subsequent police remand in the case were denied by the Delhi High Court on October 13.

On October 3, both were apprehended by the Delhi Police Special Cell. Following that, they appealed to the Delhi High challenging their arrest and the seven-day police detention, as well as asking for immediate release. The court, however, refused to award them relief, stating that there was no procedural error or violation of the terms of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in their detention.

The Delhi Police have filed charges against the two under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for allegedly collecting money to propagate pro-China propaganda. As per the FIR, NewsClick received a substantial sum of money from China in order to "disrupt India's sovereignty" and sow discontent within the country. The founder and Editor-in-Chief, Prabir Purkayastha was also accused of conspiring with the People's Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS) to subvert the electoral process during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.