We have obtained all requisite sanction: Delhi Police informs Court in Newsclick case

New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Tuesday informed the Patiala House Court of Delhi that it has obtained all the requisite sanction under section 45 of UAPA and under Section 196 CrPC for the prosecution of the accused in the NewsClick Case.

Delhi Police Special Cell, through Special Public Prosecutor Akhand Pratap Singh, submitted that all the sanction orders have been obtained, in total, there are three different sanction orders which are being filed in the form of supplementary chargesheet under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Noted the submissions, the Additional Sessions Judge, Dr Hardeep Kaur, deferred the matter for April 30, 2024, on the point of cognizance of chargesheet filed in the case and said she will have to read the chargesheet to take cognizance.

The chargesheet has been filed by Special Cell of Delhi Police recently in Patiala House Court and contained nearly 8,000 pages with annexures.

Special Public Prosecutors Advocate Akhand Pratap Singh and Suraj Rathi apprised the court that the chargesheet named Prabir Purkayastha and PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt Ltd as an accused.

According to Delhi Police, a chargesheet has been filed against Newsportal Newsclick and its founder, Prabir Purkayastha, in a case registered under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, following allegations that News Portal received huge money for pro-China propaganda.

In the matter, Newsclick HR Head Amit Chakraborty has been turned approver in the case.

Prabir Purkayastha, founder and editor-in-chief of NewsClick, along with the head of its human resources department, Amit Chakravarty, were arrested in the case on October 3, 2023. Both were arrested under stringent provisions of the UAPA under sections 13, 16, 17, 18, and 22 of the UAPA, along with IPC sections 153A and 120B.

The Delhi Police FIR stated that foreign funds in crores have been infused illegally in India by Indian and foreign entities inimical to India in pursuance of a conspiracy to disrupt the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India, to cause disaffection against India and to threaten the unity, integrity, and security of India.

The Delhi Police's Special Cell, in its FIR against news web portal NewsClick's founder and Editor-in-Chief Prabir Purkayastha, stated that People's Dispatch Portal, owned and maintained by M/S PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt. Ltd., has been used for intentionally peddling false narratives through paid news in lieu of crores of Rupees of illegally routed foreign funds as part of conspiracy.

"Foreign funds in crores have been infused illegally in India by Indian and foreign entities inimical to India in pursuance of a conspiracy with the intention to disrupt the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India, to cause disaffection against India, and to threaten the unity, integrity, and security of India," the FIR stated.