Founder of NewsClick, Prabir Puryakastha, who has been implicated in the Chinese funding case, has been granted permission by a Delhi court to meet with his lawyer. However, Additional Sessions Judge Hardeep Kaur has not yet issued an order regarding the provision of the first information report (FIR) to the accused.
Puryakastha, along with NewsClick's human resources head Amit Chakravarty, was arrested following raids conducted by the Delhi Police on Tuesday.
On Wednesday morning, both individuals were remanded to seven days of police custody.
Subsequently, they approached a Patiala House court in Delhi to request a copy of the FIR. Advocate Arshdeep Singh, representing Purkayastha, argued that they have the right to obtain a copy of the FIR.
Singh emphasized that Section 41D of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which grants the arrested person the right to consult with a lawyer of their choice during interrogation, is an absolute right.
This right is derived from Article 22. Singh further stated that after arrest, during custody, the accused has an absolute right to consult with their counsel. He proposed fixing a time for the meeting to take place.
He added that the remand order has not been provided to us.
The presiding judge has indicated that a decision regarding the provision of the FIR copy will be made tomorrow. However, an application by Puryakastha to meet with his legal counsel has been granted.
Furthermore, the Court has ordered that copies of the remand order be provided to both Puryakastha and Chakravarty.
Notice has been issued in response to their application for a copy of the FIR, as well as an application by Chakravarty seeking visitation rights to receive medication.
The matter will be heard tomorrow at 10 AM.
It is noteworthy that Singh has informed the Delhi court of an upcoming petition to challenge the FIR and the arrests before the Delhi High Court.
Singh argued that there is already an EOW FIR, and the High Court was not informed of the present FIR. The arrest will also be challenged.
Puryakastha and Chakravarty were arrested yesterday following a series of raids in response to allegations made in a New York Times article that NewsClick was being paid to promote Chinese propaganda.
In August, a New York Times investigation accused NewsClick of being an organisation funded by a network linked to US millionaire Neville Roy Singham, allegedly promoting Chinese propaganda.
In addition to the UAPA case, the Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) is investigating NewsClick. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has also registered a case against the website based on the EOW FIR. The Delhi High Court has ordered both ED and EOW not to take any coercive steps against Purkayastha or NewsClick in those cases.
TAGS: UAPA Delhi Court Prabir Purkayastha Newsclick
