NewsClick seeks quashing of cases alleging violation of foreign funding laws

New Delhi: Media portal NewsClick on Tuesday requested the Delhi High Court to quash cases filed against it for alleged violations of foreign funding laws.

The media platform argued that the prosecution against it is dishonest, malafide, and meant to harass the organisation, and that now its founder was “sitting in jail” in another case.

Its founder and Editor-in-Chief Prabir Purkayastha and its HR head Amit Chakravarty are currently in jail under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

NewsClick has challenged both the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) FIR and the subsequent case initiated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), accusing the platform of money laundering. It was asserted that no guidelines or norms governing foreign direct investment (FDI) were violated.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing NewsClick, strongly criticised the prosecution, labelling it as a completely dishonest, malafide complaint filed to harass a media channel.

He expressed concern about Purkayastha's arrest under the anti-terror law and highlighted that the man is 72 years old.

Sibal argued that there was no violation of the law regarding foreign funds from an investor abroad, and even the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) stated that no laws had been violated. He argued the prosecution was driven by NewsClick's stance against the establishment.

Counsel for the Delhi Police and the ED, which had initiated its probe based on the Delhi Police FIR, argued that NewsClick's plea for a copy of the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) had become irrelevant since the Supreme Court had ruled that it was not required to be supplied.

NewsClick had filed a petition in 2021 seeking the quashing of criminal cases against the portal over allegations of violating FDI laws. The allegations in the FIR claimed that NewsClick had received FDI from the US in violation of the law, and the investment was made by overvaluing the company's shares.