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Synopsis

A Delhi Court on Tuesday allowed NewsClick's Human Resources Department (HR) head, Amit Chakravarty, to turn an approver in the case lodged against the news portal under anti-terror law UAPA over allegations that it received money to spread pro-China propaganda.

Special Judge Hardeep Kaur of Patiala House Court pardoned Chakravarty, arrested in the case, on an application he moved recently seeking the court's permission to turn an approver.

Chakravarty also claimed that he was in possession of "material information" about the case, which he was willing to disclose to the Delhi Police.

Chakravarty had approached the trial court in the last week of December 2023, seeking to "turn approver" in the ongoing case. NewsClick has been accused of receiving foreign funds from Chinese agents in order to spread "anti-India propaganda."

In the application, Chakravarty claimed to have material information and was willing to disclose it to the Delhi police. In return, the head of HR sought a pardon in the case.

The case has been registered against Chakravarty and the news portal's founder, Prabir Purkayastha.

Background

Purkayastha and Chakravarty were arrested on October 3 following a series of raids and were initially remanded in police custody for seven days after they were produced at the judge’s residence on Tuesday night. 

The raids were conducted in the wake of allegations made in a New York Times article that NewsClick was being paid to boost Chinese propaganda.

According to reports, the Delhi Police on Tuesday searched more than 30 locations, questioned several journalists in connection with the case, and arrested Purkayastha and Chakravarty. Police sealed NewsClick's office in Delhi.

It is also stated that 46 suspects were questioned, and digital devices, including laptops and mobile phones, and documents were taken away for examination. Among those questioned were journalists Urmilesh, Aunindyo Chakravarty, Abhisar Sharma, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, and Sohail Hashmi; satirist Sanjay Rajoura; and D. Raghunandan of the Centre for Technology & Development. After being questioned for over six hours, they were allowed to go.

Allegations in Delhi Police FIR

As per the FIR filed by the Delhi Police, Prabir Purkayastha conspired with a group, namely the People's Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS), to sabotage the electoral process during the 2019 general elections.

"Big Chinese telecom companies like Xiaomi, Vivo, etc. incorporated thousands of shell companies in India in violation of PMLA/FEMA for illegally infusing foreign funds in India to further the anti-India conspiracy", the FIR stated.

As per the FIR, Purkayastha, along with Neville Roy Singham, Geeta Hariharan, and Gautam Bhatia (key person), conspired to create a legal community network in India to campaign for and defend legal cases against these Chinese telecom companies.

"NewsClick received foreign funds from Nevile Roy Singham, a resident of Shanghai, China, and an active member of the propaganda department of the Communist Party of China", the Delhi Police's FIR read.