In a recent turn of events, Amit Chakraborty, the Human Resources head of Newsclick, withdrew his plea before the Supreme Court challenging his arrest and police remand in a case filed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). 

The matter that has been adjourned until January 30 by the bench of Justices BR Gavai, Sanjay Karol and Sandeep Mehta, also saw Chakraborty, who has since become an approver in the case, being allowed to withdraw his plea.

Chakraborty, along with Prabir Purkayastha, the founding editor of NewsClick, had initially moved the Supreme Court after the Delhi High Court upheld the trial court's decision to remand them to police custody. The arrests were made on October 3, 2023, following raids conducted in response to allegations made in a New York Times article, claiming that NewsClick was receiving payments to promote Chinese propaganda.

The Supreme Court had previously sought the response of the Delhi Police on October 19, 2023, in response to the petitions filed by Purkayastha and Chakraborty against their police remand under the UAPA.

According to the First Information Report (FIR), the accused were alleged to have illegally received significant foreign funds with the intention of disrupting the sovereignty, unity, and security of India. The funds, amounting to crores of rupees, were purportedly received through illegal means over a span of five years.

The FIR further detailed that Neville Roy Singham, identified as an active member of the Communist Party of China's propaganda department, allegedly funneled these funds into India through a complex network of entities.

In response to their arrest, the petitioners argued before the Delhi High Court that their arrest and remand were illegal, citing a violation of the recent Supreme Court judgment in the Pankaj Bansal v. Union of India & Ors case, which emphasized the need to provide grounds for arrest. However, the High Court rejected this argument, stating that the judgment was not directly applicable to arrests made under the UAPA.

This rejection prompted the appeal to the Supreme Court, where Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal represented Prabir Purkayashta, and the Delhi Police was represented by Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju.

Case: Prabir Purkayastha vs State of NCT of Delhi.