NewsClick row: Court grants Delhi Police 10 more days to complete investigation

NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha (L) and HR Head Amit Chakravarty/ PTI

The Patiala House Court in Delhi has given the Delhi Police an additional 10 days to complete the investigation into the case involving Prabir Purkayastha, founder and Editor-in-Chief, and Amit Chakravarty, HR Head of the news portal Newsclick. The complaint was filed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967, following charges that the portal received cash for pro-China propaganda.

Additional Sessions Judge Hardeep Kaur approved the extension, granting the police additional time to draft a chargesheet in the case and extending the accused's judicial detention. This extension follows two earlier extensions granted by the court at the request of the Delhi Police, reported ANI.

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According to the report, the Delhi Police, represented by Special Public Prosecutor Advocate Akhand Pratap Singh, updated the court on the status of the inquiry, citing the retrieval of a large amount of data for inspection in the Newsclick row. The police highlighted the study of approximately 4 lakh emails and over 100 digital documents, stating that one of the suspects is based outside of India.

The ANI report quoted Delhi Police saying that they are in the process of "appreciating the evidence and summarising them" in Newsclick row.

Prabir Purkayastha and Amit Chakravarty were arrested by the Delhi Police last October under the UAPA rules and are currently in judicial custody.

Recently, the court appointed Amit Chakravarty as an approver in the case, subject to inspection and treatment under the Criminal Procedure Code, the ANI report stated. Examining and treating the approver - an accomplice who chooses to testify against the co-accused in return for a pardon - is a requirement of the CrPC. There are safeguards against forced or dishonest confessions, and the law requires that the approver's testimony be backed up by supporting documentation.

Chakravarty has also filed a bail application with the Delhi High Court, which has yet to be decided.

The Delhi Police's Special Cell filed an FIR against Purkayastha alleging that the People's Dispatch Portal, owned and maintained by PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt Ltd, was involved in spreading false narratives through paid news using unlawfully channelled foreign monies as part of a plan to undermine India's sovereignty and security.

The FIR also stated that foreign funds in crores were infused in India illegally by Indian and foreign entities who are hostile to India as part of a plot to jeopardise its security, unity, and integrity, the ANI report further stated.