In the heart of New Delhi, the highest judicial authority, the Supreme Court, issued a commanding decree on Wednesday, decreeing the liberation of Prabir Purkayastha, the Editor of NewsClick, denouncing his apprehension by the law enforcement body of Delhi as ‘null and void’ in a legal affair under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967.
Headed by Justice B R Gavai, a bench proclaimed unequivocally that the transmission of the grounds of detention inscribed in script to the indicted appellant or his legal representative anterior to the issuance of the detention decree on the 4th day of October 2023, was glaringly absent from the record.
In the highest court of the land, Prabir was advocated by the venerable senior counsel, Kapil Sibal. Emphasizing the pivotal point, the bench expounded that this anomaly nullifies the detention and subsequent confinement of the appellant.
“The appellant merits a directive for release from confinement, drawing from the wisdom enshrined in the adjudication delivered by this esteemed court in the matter of Pankaj Bansal,” declared the bench.
The Delhi High Court had summarily dismissed their entreaties against apprehension and ensuing custodial detention in the matter. Prabir was apprehended by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police on the 3rd day of October. As per the First Information Report, substantial monetary assets purportedly flowed from China to the news conduit with the alleged intent of “subverting the sovereignty of India” and fomenting discontent against the nation.
Furthermore, it was posited that Purkayastha colluded with an assemblage, denoted as the People’s Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS), to thwart the democratic electoral process during the parliamentary elections of 2019.