New Delhi: The Delhi police Tuesday moved a court here seeking more time to complete its probe in the case lodged under anti-terror law UAPA over allegations that NewsClick portal received money to spread pro-China propaganda.
The application was moved before Special Judge Hardeep Kaur who posted the matter for hearing December 22.
The application sought extension upto the maximum period granted under the law, i.e., 180 days from the day of the arrest of the accused for the cases lodged under the special Acts, including the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Without the court’s permission, the probe agency will have three months from the day of the arrest to complete the investigation.
As per the law, if a probe agency fails to complete the investigation within the stipulated time period, the accused in custody get a statutory right to bail.
The application claimed that the documents and other evidence in the case were voluminous and that the agency had to visit several places outside Delhi as part of the probe which was likely to take time.
The application further claimed that there were some persons/potential witnesses in the case for whom the probe agency required judicial orders to question.
The Special Cell of Delhi Police had arrested the news portal’s Founder and Editor-in-Chief Prabir Purkayastha and HR Head Amit Chakravarty October 3. They 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 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 October 3 against the suspects named in the FIR and those whose names 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.
PTI