NewsClick case: HR head Chakravarty moves to Delhi court, seeks to turn approver

Prabir Purkayastha being taken to Delhi court on Tuesday. Pic/PTI File

The head of NewsClick's human resources department, Amit Chakravarty, has approached a Delhi court seeking permission to become an approver in a case registered under the anti-terror law UAPA.

The case alleges that the news portal received funds to propagate pro-China content. Court sources tolf newswire PTI that Chakravarty filed the application before Special Judge Hardeep Kaur last week, seeking pardon and asserting that he possesses material information he is willing to disclose to the Delhi Police, which is conducting the investigation.

The judge has scheduled the matter to be heard before a magisterial court for recording Chakravarty's statement.

The Special Cell of Delhi Police had previously arrested Chakravarty and the founder/editor-in-chief of NewsClick, Prabir Purkayastha, on October 3. Both individuals are currently in judicial custody.

The FIR suggests that substantial funds from China were directed to the news portal with the intent to "disrupt the sovereignty of India" and foster disaffection against the country. It also alleges a conspiracy by Purkayastha, in collaboration with the People's Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS), to undermine the electoral process during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Delhi Police, on December 19, approached the local court seeking additional time to conclude its investigation under the UAPA in the case related to allegations against NewsClick.

The police application, filed before Special Judge Hardeep Kaur, was scheduled for a hearing on December 22. The request sought an extension of up to 180 days, as permitted by special Acts, including the UAPA, from the day of the accused's arrest. Without court approval, the investigating agency has a standard three-month period to complete the inquiry, after which the accused in custody gains a statutory right to bail if the deadline is not met.

Following the arrests on October 3, raids were conducted at 88 locations in Delhi and seven in other states, targeting individuals named in the FIR and those identified during data analysis. Approximately 300 electronic devices were seized from NewsClick offices and the residences of the journalists under scrutiny.

Subsequently, 46 individuals, including nine female journalists, were interrogated by the Special Cell. The developments in this case continue to unfold, with Chakravarty's plea to become an approver adding a new dimension to the ongoing investigations