The Supreme Court has ordered the release of NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha, declaring his arrest by the Delhi Police under the anti-terror law illegal.
A bench comprising Justices B R Gavai and Sandeep Mehta stated that the failure to provide the remand copy invalidated his arrest. Justice Mehta said, “There is no hesitation in the mind of the court that the grounds of arrest were not provided, which vitiates the arrest. The appellant is entitled to release from custody after the Pankaj Bansal case. The remand order is invalid.”
In its March judgment in the Pankaj Bansal case, the Supreme Court ruled that the grounds of arrest must be provided in writing to the accused. The trial court will set the bail conditions for Prabir Purkayastha.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S V Raju, representing the police, acknowledged that while the arrest of Prabir Purkayastha was declared void, the police might still exercise their lawful powers to arrest. Justice Gavai responded, “Whatever you are permitted to do under the law, you are permitted.”
On April 30, the Supreme Court criticised the Delhi Police for hastily producing Prabir Purkayastha before a magistrate without informing his lawyer. The remand order was issued even before his lawyer received the remand application, which the court found surprising.
Senior lawyer Kapil Sibal, representing Prabir Purkayastha, explained that he was arrested on October 3 and presented before the magistrate at 6 am the following day without his lawyer being informed.
Only legal aid lawyers and the additional public prosecutor were present. Kapil Sibal stated that the investigating officer later informed the lawyer of Prabir Purkayastha via telephone and the remand application was sent through WhatsApp.
The bench emphasised that the principles of natural justice required the presence of Prabir Purkayastha’s lawyer when the remand order was passed.
Prabir Purkayastha was arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) on October 3, following a New York Times investigation alleging that NewsClick received funding from a network promoting Chinese propaganda.
In a March chargesheet spanning 8,000 pages, the Delhi Police accused NewsClick and Prabir Purkayastha of terror funding and promoting Chinese propaganda.
Additionally, NewsClick’s HR head Amit Chakravarty, who was also arrested on October 3, was allowed by a court to turn approver in the case in January.
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