Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Oct 13: The Delhi High Court on Friday declined to intervene in the arrest and subsequent police custody of Prabir Purkayastha, the founder of NewsClick, and Amit Chakravarty, the head of the portal’s human resources department. This arrest is related to a case filed under the anti-terrorism law UAPA.
Justice Tushar Rao Gedela denied their request to intervene in the police action, stating that “the court does not find merit in both petitions.”
On October 3, the Special Cell of the Delhi Police arrested Purkayastha and Chakravarty.
Following their arrests and 7-day police custody, Prabir Purkayastha and Amit Chakravarty then filed a petition with the high court, challenging their detention and requesting immediate release as a temporary measure.
The trial court placed them in judicial custody for ten days on October 10.
For allegedly receiving money to propagate pro-China propaganda, the two have a case filed against them under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The news portal allegedly received significant funding from China in order to “disrupt the sovereignty of India” and incite discontent with the nation, according to the FIR.
The allegation further stated that Purkayastha was involved in a conspiracy with the People’s Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS) to disrupt the electoral proceedings during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
