NewsClick case: Delhi court allows HR head Amit Chakravarty to turn approver in UAPA case

New Delhi: A Delhi court has allowed NewsClick's human resources department chief Amit Chakravarty to turn an approver in the case lodged against the news portal under anti-terror law UAPA over allegations that it received money to spread pro-China propaganda, court sources said on Tuesday.

Special Judge Hardeep Kaur pardoned Chakravarty, arrested in the case, on an application he moved recently seeking the court's permission to turn an approver, a move that could spell trouble for NewsClick's Editor-in-Chief and founder Prabir Purkayastha. Chakravarty also claimed he had "material information" about the case which he was willing to disclose to the Delhi Police.

The Special Cell of Delhi Police had arrested Purkayastha and Chakravarty on October 3 and both of them are currently in judicial custody.

According to the FIR, a large amount of funds to the news portal 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.

Raids were conducted at 88 locations in Delhi and seven in other states on October 3 on the suspects named in the FIR and those that surfaced in the analysis of data, police said.

Around 300 electronic gadgets were also seized from the offices of NewsClick and the residences of the journalists who were examined. Following the raids, 46 individuals, including nine female journalists, were questioned by the Special Cell.