Supreme Court Orders Release Of NewsClick Founder Prabir Purkayastha, Says Arrest Grounds Not Provided

New Delhi:

The Supreme Court has ordered the release of NewsClick Editor Prabir Purkayastha, declaring that his arrest by the Delhi Police under the anti-terror law was illegal.

A bench of Justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta today said remand copy was not provided in the case, which makes his arrest void.

“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,” said Justice Mehta.

The top court had held that grounds of arrest must be provided in writing to the accused in its March judgment in Pankaj Bansal case.

Mr Purkayastha was arrested under the anti-terror law, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, days after a New York Times investigation alleged that NewsClick had received funding from a network pushing Chinese propaganda.