Delhi High Court Issues Notice On ED’s Application Seeking Vacation Of Orders Protecting NewsClick From Coercive Action In Money Laundering Case

The Delhi High Court on Friday issued notice on an application moved by Enforcement Directorate seeking vacation of the orders directing no coercive steps against NewsClick and its Founder and Editor-In-Chief Prabir Purkayastha in a money laundering case.

Justice Saurabh Banerjee granted two weeks’ time to NewsClick and Purkayastha for filing reply to the application and listed the matter for hearing on September 06.

The court also granted three days’ time to the probe agency for filing its rejoinder.

The application has been filed in a pending petition filed by Newsclick and Purkayastha in 2021 seeking a copy of the ECIR registered by the probe agency in September 2020. ED has sought vacation of two orders passed by a co-ordinate bench on June 21, 2021 and July 20, 2021. 

During the hearing today, ED’s counsel Zoheh Hossain submitted that it is a case of “criminal conspiracy of paid news” wherein 38 crore rupees have been "received in violation of laws". He thus prayed that the matter be heard urgently on an earlier date.

On the other hand, NewsClick’s counsel said that there is no urgency in the matter which has been pending for the last two years and that ED has been seeking adjournments since many previous hearings.

The court recorded ED’s contention that it has unearthed additional material which "reveals" the commission of money laundering offence and other scheduled offences by NewsClick.

While issuing notice, the court was of the prima facie opinion that the application of ED and the submissions made by the probe agency have merit and that the matter requires deliberation.

The probe agency, in its application, said that though the order for interim protection was passed upto the next date of hearing, however, since the matter was either not taken up on subsequent dates or no effective hearing had taken place, the order in question continues till date.

“Further, in light of further investigation in the matter, additional material has been revealed which discloses the commission of the offence of money laundering as, well as commission of scheduled offence which has been intimated to the predicate agency as well, by way of an appropriate communication u/s 66(2) of the PMLA as well,” the application read.

ED had raided the premises of NewsClick and residences of its editors in February 2021 in connection with the money laundering case for search and seizure.

The allegations in the FIR registered by the Economic Offences Wing of the Delhi Police are that PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt Ltd had received foreign direct investment by overvaluing the share to avoid the 26% cap of FDI requirement. The estimated FDI amount is ₹9.59 crore. 

Title: M.S. PPK Newclick Studio Pvt. Ltd. & Anr. v. Union of India & Anr.