The Supreme Court has ordered the release of NewsClick Editor Prabir Purkayastha, observing that his arrest by the Delhi Police was void in the anti-terror case.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta today said the remand copy was not provided, which makes his arrest void.
“There is no hesitation in the mind of the court that the grounds of arrest were not provided…which vitiates arrest. The appellant is entitled to release from custody after the Pankaj Bansal case. The remand order is invalid,” said Justice Mehta.
Mr Purkayastha was arrested under the anti-terror law, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, days after a New York Times investigation alleged that NewsClick had received funding from a network pushing Chinese propaganda.
