By quashing the proceedings against Newsclick, the Delhi High Court ended the persistent harassment of the media house by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW). Over six years, the news portal was subjected to a series of hostile actions, including raids, the arrest of its founder-editor Prabir Purkayastha, and cases under the Unlawful Activities [Prevention] Act (UAPA) and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The court’s language is striking. Stating that the case would entail a “gross abuse of the process of law,” it noted “only bald assertions that did not even remotely point” to an offence. Justice Neena Bansal Krishna quashed both the cases. The ED and the Delhi Police EOW are set to appeal the High Court judgment.

The Court’s ruling and observations are a serious indictment of the two agencies. In 2024, when the Supreme Court quashed Purkayastha’s arrest under the PMLA, it criticised the processes followed in the arrest: “…nothing but a clandestine attempt to circumvent the due process of law.” Purkayastha had already spent over seven months in jail by then. The High Court has now expressed similar views about the processes followed in the two cases. It said: “…there is not a whisper of any incriminating allegation which would suggest the commission of the offence punishable under the PMLA.” It took apart every charge raised by the agencies against the news portal and found no illegality or wrongdoing that attracted any provision of the law invoked.

Questions about the authenticity of the charges were raised when Newsclick’s premises were raided, and its employees were interrogated. Condemned by the Editors Guild of India and the journalist community, the action was seen as a response to the independent journalism practised by the media house. This is not the first time cases filed by investigative agencies against critics of the government and dissenters under draconian laws have collapsed in court. Every charge has now been disproved, but establishing innocence involved pain, hardship, and losses, and that itself has become punishment. Agencies can go after any individual or organisation under the most stringent of laws, with little or no evidence of wrongdoing, as the court demonstrated in this case. The burden, still, falls on the accused. Notably, the court said the action against Newsclick was not only mala fide but also an attack on the free press. It also violated constitutional rights. (Source: DH)