The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought response of the Delhi Police on pleas of NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and its HR head Amit Chakravarty against their arrest under anti-terror law UAPA.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai and Prashant Kumar Mishra issued notice to the Delhi Police and sought its response by October 30 after senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Devadatt Kamat, appearing for Purkayastha and Chakravarty, respectively, said they are in jail and the pleas be heard early.
On October 16, the Supreme Court agreed to list the matter urgently after Sibal mentioned it before the bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud.
The CJI had asked Sibal to circulate the case papers and said he would take a call on urgent listing of the matter.
The Delhi High Court had on October 13 dismissed their pleas against arrest and subsequent police remand in the case. Both were arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police on October 3.
They subsequently moved the high court challenging the arrest as well as the seven-day police custody, and sought immediate release as interim relief.
The court, however, refused to grant them relief, saying there was no procedural infirmity or violation of the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in arresting them.
The trial court had on October 10 sent them to judicial custody for 10 days.
The city police has lodged cases against the two under anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for allegedly receiving money to spread pro-China propaganda.
According to the FIR, a large amount of funds to the news portal allegedly came from China to "disrupt the sovereignty of India" and cause disaffection against the country.
It also alleged that Purkayastha conspired with a group -- People's Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS) -- to sabotage the electoral process during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Roads Near Red Fort To Be Closed On Independence Day. Check Traffic Advisory Delhi Man, 20, Stabbed To Death For Resisting Robbery Bid At Goa Beach 'Bail Is Rule, Jail Exception': Supreme Court's Reminder For Anti-Terror Cases 2 French Rafale Jets Collide Mid-Air, Instructor, Pilot Missing 9 Arrested For Violence At Kolkata Hospital Where Doctor Was Raped-Murdered Mob Vandalised Kolkata Doctor Rape Murder Case Crime Scene? Cops Respond UGC NET 2024 City Intimation Slips Out For August 28-September 4 Exams Sri Lanka Has 39 Presidential Candidates This Time, But No Woman Among Them Trump Reveals Why He Sounded Like He Had A Lisp During Musk Interview Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.