NewsClick Founder Moves SC Against HC Order Dismissing Plea Against Arrest In UAPA Case

Prabir Purkayastha, the founder-editor of NewsClick, and Amit Chakraborty, the human resources head, have petitioned the Supreme Court, challenging the Delhi High Court's dismissal of their plea against arrest by the Delhi Police under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, an anti-terror law.

The bench, led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud along with justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, acknowledged senior lawyer Kapil Sibal's representations for the accused.

They deemed the matter urgent and requested the circulation of the case papers.

Sibal highlighted the gravity of the NewsClick case, underlining that the journalists were in police custody and emphasising the age of one of the accused, a 75-year-old individual.

The Chief Justice expressed intent to determine the case's listing.

The Delhi High Court had rejected their argument that they should have been provided the grounds of arrest during apprehension by the police.

It clarified that the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act does not stipulate the provision of written grounds, emphasising only the requirement to "inform" the accused about the arrest reasons.

Nevertheless, the court recommended that, going forward, the police should furnish the grounds of arrest in writing to the accused after redacting sensitive material.

The duo was apprehended by the Delhi Police Special Cell earlier in the month, based on an FIR registered in August that invoked sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Indian Penal Code.

The FIR detailed various allegations against Purkayastha, including attempts to portray Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh as non-parts of India, discrediting the Indian government's efforts against Covid, supporting the farmers' agitation, and robustly defending legal cases against Chinese telecom companies like Xiaomi and Vivo.