Prabir PURKAYASTHA
Author Prabir Purkayastha, founder and editor-in-chief of online media platform NewsClick, remained on trial at the end of the year, after he was released on bail in May 2024. He was initially arrested under the UAPA on 3 October 2023, when Delhi Police’s Special Cell unit carried out mass raids at multiple locations targeting journalists, writers and others who contributed to the independent online news outlet, NewsClick. During the raid of Purkayastha’s home, his electronic devices were seized by the police, who did not provide seizure memos and hash values, a necessary means to mitigate the risk of evidence tampering, which has occurred in previous cases involving critics of the government.
On 11 October 2023, the government’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) carried out further raids on both his home and office after registering a case against NewsClick, alleging violations of foreign funding regulations under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) (see Case List 2023/2024). On 30 March 2024, the Delhi police filed a chargesheet amounting to almost 8,000 pages with a district court in Delhi. On 15 May 2024, Purkayastha was released on strict bail conditions hours after the Supreme Court found his arrest to be ‘invalid’ and ordered his release.
The raids were conducted as part of a broader investigation into NewsClick that, according to media reports, is connected to alleged funding it has received from entities associated with an individual purportedly connected with the Chinese Communist Party. However, Newslick staff have rejected these allegations. Purkayastha and NewsClick have previously been subjected to judicial harassment, including a 113 hour raid of his home by Enforcement Directorate officials in February 2021, during which Purkayastha was effectively held under house arrest and prevented from leaving.
Born in 1952, Prabir Purkayastha is a journalist, writer and activist. A former engineer, Purkayastha is author of several books, including Knowledge as Commons: Towards Inclusive Science and Technology (2023). He is also the co-author of Enron Blowout: Corporate Capitalism and Theft of the Global Commons (2002) and Uncle Sam’s Nuclear Cabin (2007). In 2009, he founded NewsClick to establish an independent platform for news reporting with a particular focus on progressive movements in India and elsewhere. In 2023, Purkayastha published his memoir titled Keeping Up the Good Fight: From the Emergency to the Present, which includes a detailed account of his first detention as a student protestor during India’s state of emergency which took place from 1975-77.