NewsClick: SC holds arrest, remand of founder Prabir Purkayastha in UAPA case invalid

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the release of NewsClick founder and its editor-in-chief Prabir Purkayastha in a case registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for allegedly receiving money for spreading pro-China propaganda, holding that his arrest and remand in the case were invalid.

A bench comprising Justice BR Gavai and Justice Sandeep Mehta pronounced the verdict on a plea filed by Purkayastha challenging an order of the Delhi High Court, which upheld his arrest and subsequent police remand in the UAPA case.

“Copy of the remand application was not provided to the appellant (Purkayastha). This vitiates the arrest of the appellant following pankaj bhansal case. Though we would have released him without surety, but since chargesheet has been filed, we release him with surety and bail bond,” the top court said.

The Delhi Police arrested Purkayastha and Amit Chakravarty, NewsClick’s Human Resources Department (HR), on October 3 last year in the UAPA case.

Purkayastha and Chakravarty challenged their arrest and subsequent police remand before the High Court, which dismissed their pleas and aggrieved by the High Court order, they approached the Supreme Court challenging their arrest an d subsequent police remand in the UAPA case. Chakravarty, however, later withdrew his plea challenging his arrest and subsequent police remand from the Supreme Court.

Chankravarty has turned approver in the case and he has been pardoned by the court after he moved an application before the trial court seeking its permission to turn approver in the case.