Delhi High court reviews NewsClick’s protection in laundering case

NEW DELHI

In the case of M.S. PPK Newclick Studio Pvt. Ltd. & Anr. vs. Union of India And Anr., the Delhi High Court has issued a notice regarding an application from the Enforcement Directorate (ED). This application requests the revocation of previous orders that prevented coercive measures against NewsClick and its Founder and Editor-In-Chief, Prabir Purkayastha, in relation to a money laundering case.
The bench, led by Justice Saurabh Banerjee, granted NewsClick and Purkayastha a two-week period for response. Subsequently, the court also allowed the probing agency three days to file its rejoinder.
The backdrop of this case is an application from 2021 by NewsClick and Purkayastha. In this application, they sought a copy of the ECIR, which was registered by the probing agency in September 2020. The ED, in this case, wishes to revoke two orders dated 21.06.2021 and 20.07.2021 that were passed by the coordinate bench.
Representing the ED, counsel Zoheb Hossain argued that this is a case of a criminal conspiracy involving paid news, where an illegal transaction of 38 crore rupees occurred. Thus, he requested an urgent hearing on this matter.
Countering this, the counsel for NewsClick emphasised the lack of urgency, pointing out that the case has been pending for two years. They also mentioned that the ED has repeatedly sought adjournments in previous hearings.
The court took note of the ED’s claims about discovering additional evidence indicating money laundering and other offences by NewsClick. Believing the ED’s application and the probing agency’s arguments to have merit, the court opined that the matter requires thorough consideration.
The probing agency, in its application, highlighted that though interim protection was granted only until the next hearing, due to various reasons, including ineffective hearings or rescheduling, the protection has remained active.
Furthermore, the application reveals additional evidence of money laundering offences, as well as other offences that have been communicated to the predicate agency as per section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
As context, in February 2021, the ED had conducted raids at NewsClick’s premises and the residences of its editors in association with the ongoing money laundering investigation.