Delhi High Court quashes charges against NewsClick and Prabir Purkayastha
Big news for press freedom: The Delhi High Court has thrown out all charges against NewsClick and editor in chief Prabir Purkayastha.
The FIR from the Economic Offences Wing and money laundering case from the Enforcement Directorate were called mala fide and arbitrary by Justice Neena Bansal Krishna, who said these moves abused legal process and threatened journalism.
Court finds NewsClick $1.5 million investment lawful
NewsClick was accused of getting $1.5 million in 2018 from a US company to dodge a 26% FDI cap set in 2019.
But the court pointed out that this rule wasn't even in place when the investment happened, and RBI had already cleared it.
There was also no evidence of criminal conspiracy or fund diversion; records showed expenses matched operational needs, so all money laundering claims were dismissed as baseless.