NewsClick Row: Associates Seek Restitution After High Court Sets Aside FIR

Friends and former colleagues of NewsClick have demanded closure of all remaining cases against the news portal and its founder-editor Prabir Purkayastha , restitution for those affected, and an end to what they call the use of investigative agencies against independent journalism, following the Delhi High Court verdict quashing criminal and money-laundering proceedings.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the group said the ruling exposed the alleged weaponisation of probe agencies against media houses and amounted to a strong vindication of NewsClick’s journalism. They cited the court’s observations that the proceedings were mala fide, arbitrary, and a gross abuse of the process of law , and argued that the case lacked any sustainable criminal foundation.

The High Court had quashed the 2020 FIR filed by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) and the connected Enforcement Directorate (ED) proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, noting that the allegations did not disclose offences such as cheating, criminal breach of trust, or conspiracy. Several later analyses of the judgment highlighted that the court found “no whisper of incriminating material” and rejected claims of illegal foreign funding under FDI norms as legally untenable.

The signatories noted that Prabir Purkayastha spent 226 days in jail during the course of the investigation and that the freezing of NewsClick’s assets led to the departure of more than 100 employees. They questioned accountability for the loss of liberty, livelihoods, and the broader chilling effect on independent journalism.

The case has seen multiple legal turns, including the Supreme Court’s earlier ruling in 2024 that declared Purkayastha’s arrest illegal and ordered his release. Despite the latest High Court relief, the matter is not fully closed, as the Enforcement Directorate has decided to appeal the verdict in the Supreme Court , keeping the dispute alive at the apex level.

Supporters of NewsClick and press freedom groups have welcomed the judgment as a reaffirmation of constitutional protections for journalism, while the legal process now shifts once again to the Supreme Court for final adjudication.