New Delhi, May 16: On May 15, the Supreme Court of India invalidated the arrest and remand of Prabir Purkayastha, the 74-year-old founder-editor of NewsClick, under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Purkayastha was arrested by the Special Cell of Delhi Police on October 3, 2023, and had been detained in Tihar Jail for over six months on accusations of utilizing Chinese funding to promote anti-national propaganda through digital media.
The veteran journalist’s arrest followed a First Information Report (FIR) lodged on August 17, 2023, though Purkayastha and his lawyer were not initially provided with a copy of the FIR. He reportedly received the FIR only after being remanded to police custody on October 4. The arrest occurred shortly after a New York Times report on August 8, 2023, alleged that NewsClick received funds from American millionaire Neville Roy Singham, purportedly linked to the Communist Party of China’s Propaganda Department.
The police alleged that Purkayastha had received Rs. 115 crore in foreign funds and searched 88 locations across Delhi and seven states, seizing around 300 electronic gadgets. However, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice Sandeep Mehta, ruled that the arrest violated Article 22(1) of the Constitution, which mandates that the grounds of arrest must be communicated in writing.
Justice Mehta, authoring the judgment, emphasized that failure to inform Purkayastha of the grounds of his arrest in writing rendered the process illegal. The Supreme Court extended this requirement to UAPA cases, referencing its 2023 Pankaj Bansal judgment under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Purkayastha faced allegations including attempts to depict Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh as disputed territories, discrediting the government’s COVID-19 response, funding the farmers’ agitation, and supporting legal defenses of Chinese telecom companies. His arrest invoked several sections of the UAPA and the Indian Penal Code.
The court criticized the clandestine manner of Purkayastha’s arrest and subsequent remand, highlighting that it deprived him of legal representation and misled the court. Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju argued that Purkayastha had been orally informed of the grounds for his arrest, but the bench sided with senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who contended that arrests must be supported by solid reasons and communicated in writing.
Although the Supreme Court quashed the arrest and remand orders, it required Purkayastha to furnish bail bonds worth Rs. 1 lakh and imposed conditions, including restrictions on contacting witnesses and approvers associated with the case and prohibiting travel abroad without court permission.
Purkayastha was released from Tihar Jail hours after the verdict, with his lawyer highlighting that the prosecution did not press for conditions preventing him from contacting individuals named in the chargesheet, including his partner Githa Hariharan.
