NewsClick Case: Delhi Police Files 8000-Page Chargesheet, Names Founder Prabir Purkayastha As Accused

Special Public Prosecutors Advocate Akhand Pratap Singh and Suraj Rathi told the court that the chargesheet identified Prabir Purkayastha, and PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt Ltd as the accused parties.

NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha being brought to the Patiala House Court by Delhi Police's Special Cell. ( Image Source :PTI )

New Delhi: The Delhi Police has submitted a chargesheet on Saturday over a case filed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against the news portal NewsClick, which is accused of receiving huge amount of money to propagate pro-China narratives through its articles, news agency PTI reported.

Last year, the Special Cell of the Delhi Police initiated the case under sections 13, 16, 17, 18, and 22 of the UAPA, in addition to sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups based on various factors) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Subsequently, on October 3, 2023, the founder of NewsClick, Prabir Purkayastha, and the head of the human resources department, Amit Chakravarty, were arrested.

The chargesheet, comprising nearly 8000 pages along with annexures, has been presented before Additional Sessions Judge Hardeep Kaur at the Patiala House Court.

Special Public Prosecutors Advocate Akhand Pratap Singh and Suraj Rathi told the court that the chargesheet identified Prabir Purkayastha, the founder and editor-in-chief of NewsClick, and PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt Ltd as the accused parties.

Earlier, Delhi's Patiala House Court granted extensions to the Delhi Police for filing the chargesheet last December. Initially, a two-month extension was granted, followed by an additional 20 days in February this year.

Prabir Purkayastha and NewsClick are the primary accused entities, while Amit Chakraborty has been designated as an approver in the case. Both Purkayastha and Chakravarty were arrested under the provisions of the UAPA, along with sections 153A and 120B of the IPC.

According to the FIR filed by the Delhi Police's Special Cell, it has been alleged that the People's Dispatch Portal, which is owned and operated by M/S PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt. Ltd., was utilised to peddle fabricated narratives in exchange for large sums of money obtained from unlawfully channelled foreign funds, as part of a conspiracy, a report by news agency ANI stated.