Delhi court takes cognizance of chargesheet in NewsClick Chinese propaganda case

A Delhi court on Tuesday took cognizance of the chargesheet filed by the Delhi police special cell in the NewsClick case, accusing the news portal of allegedly running Chinese propaganda with the intention of undermining India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The Delhi police had filed an 8,000-page chargesheet in the case on March 30 against NewsClick and its founder and editor-in-chief Prabir Purkayastha under sections 153A (promoting enmity), 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections 13 (unlawful activities), 16 (terrorist act), 17 (raising funds for a terrorist act), 18 (conspiracy), 22C (offences by companies, societies, and trusts), 39 (offence relating to support given to a terrorist organisation) and 40 (offence of raising fund for a terrorist organisation) of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

Additional sessions judge (ASJ) Hardeep Kaur took cognizance of the offences alleged against them and listed the matter for further proceedings and scrutiny of documents on May 31.

Special public prosecutors (SPP) Akhand Pratap Singh and Suraj Rathi appearing for the special cell apprised ASJ Kaur that the chargesheet has been filed based on the documentary evidence retrieved during the investigation and the statements given by the witnesses and the accused-turned-approver Amit Chakravarty.

Purkayastha and NewsClick’s human resources department head Chakravarty were arrested by the Delhi Police Special Cell on October 3 last year. Chakravarty, however, became an approver in January this year.

In its first charge sheet filed before the additional sessions judge Hardeep Kaur, the Special Cell has named only Purkayastha and the company PPK NewsClick Studio Pvt. Ltd, which owns the portal, as accused in the case.

Though NewsClick was already under the scanners of the Delhi police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW), the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Income Tax Department, the Special Cell registered a first information report (FIR) against the portal and its founder on August 17, 2023.

The case was registered roughly two weeks after an investigation in the New York Times alleged that the portal was part of a global network that received money for pushing Chinese propaganda.

NewsClick has repeatedly rejected the charges, claiming that proceedings against it were a “blatant attempt” to muzzle the free press.

“The allegations in the FIR, apart from being ex facie untenable and bogus, have been made time and again, in investigations by three government agencies – the Enforcement Directorate, the Economic Offences Wing, Delhi Police, and the income tax department…,” the portal had said in a statement in October last year.