The Supreme Court today issued notice on the Enforcement Directorate's plea challenging the Delhi High Court's decision to quash the ECIR registered against digital news portal NewsClick and its founder-editor Prabir Purkayastha over alleged irregularities in foreign funding.

A bench of CJI Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana passed the order. During the hearing, an adjournment for 4 weeks was sought on behalf of ASG SV Raju (for ED), pointing out that in the meantime, the Delhi Police would also move the court against the same impugned order.

Justice Bagchi remarked, "we are not very impressed with the ED SLP". Ultimately however, the bench issued notice to the respondents.

In a judgment delivered on May 29, Justice Neena Bansal Krishna of the Delhi High Court quashed the FIR registered by the Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) and the connected money laundering proceedings initiated by the ED, holding that the continuation of the proceedings amounted to a gross abuse of the process of law.

The High Court had found that the allegations did not disclose the commission of the offences invoked in the FIR and that the proceedings were not legally sustainable.

The FIR, registered in August 2020, invoked Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

The case arose from allegations concerning foreign direct investment (FDI) received by PPK Newsclick Studio Private Limited, the company operating NewsClick, from US-based Worldwide Media Holdings LLC. The investigating agency had alleged that the investment was structured to circumvent restrictions governing foreign investment in digital news media and that a portion of the funds was diverted towards salaries, consultancy fees, rent and other expenses.

The ED subsequently registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), treating the alleged offences in the FIR as the predicate offences for its investigation.

Rejecting the allegations, the High Court held that the material on record did not establish the commission of the alleged scheduled offences. It also observed that the allegations concerning the share valuation and expenditure of the company did not, by themselves, establish criminal wrongdoing.

The Court further held that once the predicate FIR was quashed, the connected money laundering proceedings could not survive.

The ED's challenge before the Supreme Court seeks to overturn the High Court's decision.

The proceedings quashed by the High Court are separate from the UAPA case registered by the Delhi Police's Special Cell against NewsClick and Purkayastha over allegations relating to foreign funding and a purported conspiracy. That case is independent of the EOW FIR and the ED proceedings.

Case Title : DIRECTORATE OF ENFORCEMENT versus M/S PPK NEWSCLICK STUDIOS PVT. LTD, DIARY NO. 63217/2026