NewsClick case: Prabir Purkayastha and Amit Chakravarti remanded to 10 days of judicial custody

In a significant development in the NewsClick case, the founder of the news portal, Prabir Purkayastha, and its HR head, Amit Chakravarti, have been remanded to ten days of judicial custody by Additional Sessions Judge Hardeep Kaur of the Patiala House Courts. This decision follows their recent arrest in connection with a case filed by the Delhi police, which alleges that NewsClick received Chinese funding to criticize the Indian government's policies and promote Chinese propaganda.

The duo was brought before the court after their initial five days of police custody expired, as reported by LiveLaw.

During the proceedings, Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) Atul Srivastava stated that the Delhi police was seeking judicial custody because the physical presence of Purkayastha and Chakravarti was not required at this stage.

However, Purkayastha's lawyer, Arshdeep Singh Khurana, strongly opposed the grant of judicial custody. Khurana argued that a "bare reading of Delhi Police's FIR would show that there is no criminal offense made out," let alone a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Khurana emphasized that there were no allegations of violent acts or criminal force in the FIR, stating, "There is no act of kidnapping, detention, or abduction. None of the acts attributed to me has any elements of Section 15 of UAPA."

He further contended that a journalist cannot be penalized for criticizing the government in power. In response, APP Srivastava asserted, "Your purpose was not criticizing (the government) but propagating the propaganda of a country that is inimical to us."

Khurana also reiterated that NewsClick had not received any funds from China, and all investments were made through legitimate banking channels and duly reported to the government.

Rohit Sharma, representing NewsClick's HR head, Amit Chakravarti, pointed out that his client's name was not mentioned in the FIR as an accused. He clarified that while the FIR suggested Chakravarti owned shares in NewsClick, his holdings in the company amounted to only 0.1%.

"There is [an] allegation there is money coming in and some news is being published with a particular agenda. I have not been involved in any publication. I am not a journalist, or an editor, or writer," Chakravarti's lawyer emphasized.

APP Srivastava countered by stating that the police had already satisfied the court during the initial police remand that the offenses were established. "Today it is not a case of first remand. At the time of the first remand, we had satisfied my ladyship with how the offenses were made out… We are at the stage of collecting evidence. See our fairness. We have said we don't need police remand as of now and will ask later if we need it," he explained.

Purkayastha and Chakravarti were initially arrested on October 3 and had been remanded to seven days of police custody on October 4. The Delhi High Court has reserved its order in the pleas filed by Purkayastha and Chakravarti, challenging the trial court's remand order.