New Delhi, 11 June (H.S.): The Delhi High Court has quashed the cases registered by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against news portal NewsClick and its founder, Prabir Purkayastha, in connection with allegations relating to foreign funding.
A bench headed by Justice Neena Bansal Krishna held that the proceedings initiated against NewsClick and Prabir Purkayastha amounted to an abuse of power and ordered that the cases be set aside.
The development follows an earlier ruling by the Supreme Court on May 15, 2024, in which it declared Purkayastha’s arrest illegal and ordered his immediate release.
Earlier, on July 7, 2021, the Delhi High Court had granted interim bail to Prabir Purkayastha and Pranjal Pandey in the case registered by the EOW.
The Economic Offences Wing had filed an FIR under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. Investigators alleged that PPK NewsClick Studio Private Limited, owned by Purkayastha, had received Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) amounting to ₹9.59 crore from the United States-based Worldwide Media Holdings Company during the financial year 2018–19.
According to the FIR, the foreign investment was allegedly obtained in violation of applicable legal and regulatory provisions governing foreign funding.
While examining the matter, the Supreme Court had taken note of procedural lapses surrounding Purkayastha’s arrest. The apex court observed that a copy of the remand application was not provided to his legal counsel at the time he was taken into custody. It further held that the written grounds of arrest were not furnished to him when he was arrested.
Prabir Purkayastha and Amit Chakravarty were arrested by Delhi Police on October 3, 2023. The arrests were linked to allegations that emerged following reports published in an international newspaper concerning the operations and funding of NewsClick.
With the High Court now quashing the EOW and ED proceedings, a major legal chapter in the case has come to an end, subject to any further appeals or proceedings that may arise.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
