Supreme Court Deems Newsclick Editor Prabir Purkayastha's Arrest Void, Orders His Release
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday (May 15) said the arrest Newsclick founder and editor Prabir Purkayastha was void as the correct procedure was not followed. He is facing charges in an Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act case.
The bench of Justices B.R. Gavai and Sandeep Mehta held that there was "no hesitation" in their minds that Purkayastha's remand order was invalid and arrest was illegal as he was not provided with the grounds for arrest at the time.
"There is no hesitation in the mind of the Court to reach to a conclusion that a copy of the remand application, in the purported exercise of the communication of the grounds of arrest in writing, was not provided to the accused-appellant or his counsel before the passing of the remand order dated 4th October, 2023, which vitiates the arrest and the subsequent remand of the appellant. As a result, the appellant is entitled to a direction for release from custody by applying the ration of the judgment rendered by this court in Pankaj Bansal," the bench said, according to Livelaw.
The court was hearing a plea filed by Purkayastha challenging his arrest and remand by the Delhi Police in the case.
According to Livelaw, after the order, Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju said that since the arrest has been declared void, it may not preclude the police from exercising correct powers to arrest. Justice Gavai said they were "not saying anything on that".
Purkayastha was arrested by the Delhi Police on October 3, 2023, after raids on his house, the Newsclick office and the residences of around 80 journalists and others associated with the organisation. Newsclick’s HR head Amit Chakravarty was also arrested at the same time, but has since turned approver in the case.
Recently, the police filed its chargesheet in the case, which the organisation has rejected as “absurd” and “baseless”. The organisation has stated that there is no evidence whatsoever that Purkayastha or anyone else association with the organisation was involved in terrorist acts, and the case is simply a way to target independent journalism.
Journalists' bodies welcome apex court order
Digipub, a platform comprising digital media outlets and freelancers and of which The Wire and Newsclick are founding members, said it welcomed the Supreme Court's decision and hoped Purkayastha would be released immediately.
“We urge the government to exercise restraint and caution in its deliberate and regressive war against media houses it doesn't agree with,” Digipub's statement on Wednesday added.
The Press Club of India wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that it welcomed the apex court's decision, adding that the government “wants to silence them [journalists] for their reportage and commentary on contemporary issues” by invoking the UAPA against them.
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