The bench said it would take up the medical bail application along with the main matter after the Diwali vacation.
Protests were held across the country against the arrest. (Instagram)
The Supreme Court on Monday, 6 November, adjourned until after the Deepavali vacation the hearing on pleas of NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and its Human Resources wing head Amit Chakravarty against their arrest under anti-terror law, the UAPA.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai and Prashant Kumar Mishra told senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for both the accused, that it would take up the pleas after the vacation.
Sibal said the matter was covered by the recent judgment of the apex court under which it was held that grounds of arrest had to be immediately shared with the accused but in this case, nothing was shared.
He said there was an application for medical bail also pending before the court. The bench said it would take up the medical bail application along with the main matter after the Deepavali vacation.
The Special Cell of Delhi Police had arrested Purkayastha and Chakravarty on 3 October. They were sent to judicial custody on 10 October.
On 19 October, the top court sought the response of the Delhi Police on pleas of Purkayastha and Chakravarty challenging the Delhi High Court order of 13 October.
The high court had on 13 October dismissed their pleas against the arrest and subsequent police remand in the case.
The police, however, sought their fresh custodial interrogation on 25 October.
According to the FIR, a large amount of funds received by 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 on 3 October on the suspects named in the FIR and those that surfaced in the analysis of data, the 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 in Delhi and NCR.
(With PTI inputs)
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