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New Delhi: The Delhi police special cell on Saturday filed its first charge sheet in the NewsClick case registered under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, following allegations of receiving funds through Chinese firms “with the intention of undermining India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
The special cell has named NewsClick’s founder Prabir Purkayastha, and the company – PPK NewsClick Studio Pvt. Ltd., as accused in the approximately 8000-page charge sheet.
The Delhi police had on October 3 last year arrested Purkayastha and NewsClick HR head Amit Chakraborty, following questions after raids on journalists, freelancers, writers, and satirists linked to the portal.
Special public prosecutors (SPP) Akhand Pratap Singh and Suraj Rathi sought that cognisance on the charge sheet may be deferred since sanctions under section 45 of the UAPA and section 196 (for prosecution for offence against state and for criminal conspiracy to commit such offence) of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) are awaited.
Singh said that sanctions would be filed in the form of a supplementary charge sheet. Additional sessions judge (ASJ) Hardeep Kaur listed the matter on April 16 for hearing arguments on taking cognisance of the charge sheet.
While the organisation was already under the scanners of Delhi police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW), the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Income Tax Department, the special cell registered a first information report (FIR) in the case on August 17, 2023.
An FIR was registered under sections 13 (unlawful activities), 16 (terrorist act), 17 (raising funds for terrorist act), 18 (conspiracy) and 22C (offences by companies, societies, and trusts) of UAPA as well as sections 153A (promoting enmity) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.
The action came days after a report was published in The New York Times alleging that the portal was part of a global network that received money for pushing Chinese propaganda.
The American newspaper said that millionaire Shanghai-based US millionaire Neville Roy Singham funded NewsClick, among other outlets across the globe, to sprinkle its coverage with Chinese government talking points.
According to the Delhi police, Puryastha allegedly conspired with a group namely Peoples Alliance for Democracy and Secularism to sabotage the 2019 general elections, and Chinese firms such as Xiaomi and Vivo incorporated shell companies illegally to infuse foreign funds to disrupt the country’s sovereignty.
Also Read: NewsClick case: Supreme Court notice to Delhi Police on pleas by editor Prabir Purkayastha, HR head
Citing secret inputs, the police claimed that Indian and foreign entities illegally infused funds worth crores, which was done in pursuance of conspiracy and intention to disrupt India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, cause disaffection and threaten the country’s unity and integrity.
Police further alleged that the foreign fund was brought into the company’s coffers by an active member of the Communist Party of China, identified as Singham.
NewsClick has repeatedly rejected all charges, saying that proceedings against it were a “blatant attempt” to muzzle the free press.
“The allegations in the FIR, apart from being ex facie untenable and bogus, have been made time and again, in investigations by three government agencies – the Enforcement Directorate, the Economic Offences Wing, Delhi Police, and the income tax department. None of these investigations led to any charge sheets or complaints over the last three years. Prabir was granted interim protection in these investigations. The latest FIR has been registered only to circumvent this protection and carry out illegal arrests under the draconian UAPA,” the portal said in a statement.
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