NewsClick Founder Prabir Purkayastha gets released from custody On Wednesday, May 15.
The Supreme Court ordered the release of NewsClick Founder & Editor-in-chief Prabir Purkayastha. Mr. Purkayastha was arrested by the Delhi Police’s special cell on October 3, 2023, under the grounds of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), over the allegations of running Chinese propaganda.
“Arrest, subsequent remand order of NewsClick Founder, are declared to be invalid in the eyes of law,” the bench of Justices Sandeep Mehta and B R Gavai, said on Wednesday. Mr. Purkayastha was arrested on the basis of an FIR registered on August 17, 2023.
The online web portal founder was accused of involvement in unlawful activities, foreign funding, and conspiracy. At the time of arrest, he was denied the request to provide the copy of the FIR, the copy was not provided to him until two days after his arrest and remand by the Delhi Police. As per the law, it is a clear violation of a fundamental right. The FIR copy was not even uploaded in the public domain as per the reports.
Right to life and personal liberty is the most sacrosanct fundamental right, declares Court
The Supreme court declared Mr. Purayastha’s arrest and remand as “invalid” as he or his lawyer was not provided with the grounds of his arrest under UAPA, in writing.
As it is a mandatory and a fundamental right guaranteed under Article 20, 21 and 22 of the Constitution in all UAPA cases. “Right to life and personal liberty is the most sacrosanct fundamental right guaranteed in the Constitution, ” the Supreme Court said.
“There is no hesitation in the mind of this court that the copy of the remand application, in the purported exercise of communicating the grounds of arrest in writing, was not provided to the accused-appellant (Purkayastha) or his counsel before the passing of the order of remand dated October 4, 2023. This vitiates his arrest and subsequent remand,” Justice Mehta said.
Owned by PPK NewsClick Studio Private Limited, NewsClick is an online news web portal founded in 2009 by Prabir Purkayastha.
