Supreme Court orders immediate release of NewsClick founder, calls arrest illegal
New Delhi/IBNS: The Supreme Court has ordered an immediate release of NewsClick founder Prabir Purakayastha, who was arrested over alleged Chinese funding to promote anti-national propaganda, media reports said.
Purakayastha's arrest under the anti-terror law has been termed as "illegal" by the top court.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta said the arrest was "void" as the remand copy was not provided.
"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," Justice Mehta said as quoted by NDTV.
On April 30, the Supreme Court questioned the Delhi Police for hastily producing Purakayastha without informing his lawyer after the arrest.
According to the FIR (First Information Report) a large amount of funding for the news portal allegedly came from China to "disrupt the sovereignty of India" and cause disaffection against the country.
The probe agency also alleged that Purkayastha conspired with a group called the People's Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS) - to sabotage the electoral process during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
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