NewsClick row: Purkayastha, Chakravarty sent to 10-day judicial custody
New Delhi (PTI): A Delhi court on Tuesday sent to 10-day judicial custody NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and human resources department head Amit Chakravarty, arrested in a case lodged under anti-terror law UAPA over allegations that the news portal received money to spread pro-China propaganda.
The two were produced before Additional Sessions Judge Hardeep Kaur around 2:50 PM, following which the prosecution sought 10 days judicial custody for the duo.
"It is admitted position that there is no stay by the Delhi High Court against the proceedings in the present case," ASJ Kaur said.
"In view of the submissions made, grounds cited in the application and record, accused Prabir Purkayastha and Amit Chakravarty are remanded in judicial custody for 10 days and be produced on October 20," she added.
The judge noted the submissions of the counsel for both the accused persons, according to which they had challenged the duo's arrest, and the first remand order passed by the court before the Delhi High Court.
"They have also moved a petition for quashing of FIR, though there is no stay by the Delhi High Court against the proceedings in the present case," she said.
The court said the application for the duo's judicial custody included various grounds, such as the investigation being at a crucial state, to conduct a proper investigation as the case is regarding a "larger and deep-rooted conspiracy", and to prevent the duo from committing any further offence.
"It is further submitted that at this stage, more investigation is needed to be conducted, questioning of several persons linked with the case is still pending, the reply of notices sent to various financial institutions is awaited and analysis of the huge volume of digital data, documents and other evidence seized during investigation needs to be completed," the court said noting the application.
It said according to the plea, based on developments during the investigation, further police custody of accused persons may be required at a later stage, for which a separate application would be filed.
The court noted that counsels for both accused had opposed the plea for judicial custody.
It noted Advocate Arshdeep Singh Khurana, counsel for Purkayastha had submitted that it is a case of multiple investigations by various agencies, including the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Directorate of Enforcement (ED) and Income Tax Department.
In the case regarding the previous investigation by the ED, the Delhi High Court had in June 2021 granted protection to Purkayastha and also directed the agency to not take any coercive action against him, the court said noting his submissions.
It noted that the advocate had argued that the Special Cell had registered a new FIR to "circumvent this protection" and that no criminal act had been done by Purkayastha.
The court said Chakravarty's counsel had submitted that his client's name was mentioned at only two places in the FIR and there was no specific allegation against him
It said that countering the arguments, the Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Atul Shrivastava had said that Purkayastha's counsel was "misleading" this court as facts of a 2013 judgment of the apex court cited by him were different from the present case.
"He (the SPP) further submitted that Part B of Delhi High Court Rules for Remand does not bar this court to grant judicial custody remand... Section 309 (Explanation 1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) provides that if sufficient evidence has been obtained to raise a suspicion that the accused may have committed an offence, and it appears likely that further evidence may be obtained by a remand, this is a reasonable cause for a remand," the court noted.
Countering the arguments of Chakravarty's counsel, the SPP said it is settled law that FIR is not an encyclopedia which must disclose all the facts, the court noted.
The Special Cell of Delhi Police had arrested Purkayastha and Chakravarty on October 3. Police also sealed NewsClick's office in Delhi.
According to the FIR, a large amount of funds to 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 October 3 on the suspects named in the FIR and those that surfaced in the analysis of data, police said.
Around 300 electronic gadgets were also seized from the offices of NewsClick and 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.
The Delhi High Court Monday reserved its order on pleas by Purkayastha and Chakravarty challenging their arrest and the subsequent 7-day police remand.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
