SC orders release of NewsClick editor Prabir Purkayastha, says arrest illegal

The Supreme Court has ordered the release of NewsClick founder and editor Prabir Purkayastha in the UAPA case after holding that his arrest and remand were illegal, LiveLaw reported.

The court noted that a copy of the remand application was not provided to the appellant or his counsel before passing the remand order, according to LiveLaw. The court said the release will be subject to furnishing of the bail bonds to the satisfaction of the trial court.

Prabir Purkayastha and NewsClick HR head Chakraborty were arrested in October last year.

Last week, there were a flurry of news reports on the Delhi police’s chargesheet against NewsClick. Running into 8,000 pages, the chargesheet levels a wild range of accusations against NewsClick and its founder Prabir Purkayastha including funding terrorism, inciting protests, and having Maoist links.

NewsClick has repeatedly denied the charges against it. It published a detailed statement rejecting the “absurd, baseless allegations” in the chargesheet. It noted that many media reports on the chargesheet were published without seeking NewsClick’s response.

Newslaundry has reported on the case against NewsClick from the start. See a timeline of events here and the rest of our reportage here.

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