Delhi Court reevaluates NewsClick editor’s arrest protection

Delhi High Court on Tuesday has summoned NewsClick’s Editor in Chief, Prabir Purkayastha, following a petition from Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EoW) requesting the court to reconsider its previous decision barring any coercive action against the news portal.
The court had initially, on July 7, 2021, mandated that Purkayastha would not be arrested but should collaborate with the ongoing investigations. Justice Saurabh Benrajee, overseeing the case, has now asked Purkayastha to respond.
The EoW’s FIR discloses that the accused, including Purkayastha, conspired with overseas collaborators. Their alleged modus operandi was to deceptively acquire funds, mask them as Foreign Direct Investment, and artificially inflate their company valuation. This inflated valuation supposedly helped them attract foreign investments, while they diluted their shareholdings to favour foreign investors.
Despite receiving immunity from arrest, Purkayastha did join the investigation but provided limited financial documents for PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt. Ltd., EoW remarked. They emphasised that he failed to reveal complete financial operations, particularly regarding foreign fundings and services rendered against overseas payments.
In a parallel development, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) also approached the Delhi High Court against NewsClick and Purkayastha. They asserted the presence of a “grave criminal conspiracy for paid news”.