UAPA case against Newsclick: Delhi Police gets 2 more months to complete investigation

New Delhi [India]: The Patiala House Court of Delhi on Friday granted the Delhi Police Special Cell a further 2 months to complete the investigation in the case registered under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, following allegations that news portal NewsClick received huge money for pro-China propaganda. 

On December 19, the police moved an application in Patiala House Court and sought an extension of time to complete the investigation in the case. The police had sought three more months to complete the investigation into the matter. 

The case against NewsClick is based on allegations that the news portal received Rs 38 crore in foreign funding from Chinese entities to spread pro-Chinese content. On October 3, 2023, the Delhi Police raided the homes of more than 50 journalists, freelancers, and staffers associated with NewsClick. 

According to the law, without the court’s permission, the probe agency has three months from the arrest to complete the investigation. 

The Additional Sessions Judge Hardeep Kaur on Friday while allowed the Delhi Police plea and granted 60 days further time to the police. Meanwhile, the court also extended the judicial custody of Prabir Purkayastha and others in the matter till January 2024. 

Recently, the court dismissed Newsclick’s founder and Editor-in-Chief Prabir Purkayastha’s application, which sought directions to release his electronic devices seized by Delhi Police. 
In October this year, the Delhi Police arrested Purkayastha and Newsclick HR Head Amit Chakraborty under the provisions of UAPA. 

The Delhi Police’s Special Cell, in its FIR against Purkayastha, stated that the People’s Dispatch Portal, owned and maintained by PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt. Ltd., has been used for intentionally peddling false narratives through paid news in place of crores of illegally routed foreign funds as part of a conspiracy. 

The FIR further stated that foreign funds in crores have been infused illegally in India by Indian and foreign entities inimical to India in pursuance of a conspiracy to disrupt the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India, to cause disaffection against India and to threaten the unity, integrity, and security of India.