New Delhi, November 6, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to digital news portal NewsClick and its founder and editor-in-chief, Prabir Purkayastha, on a plea filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) challenging a Delhi High Court judgment that quashed a money-laundering case against them.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana passed the order while hearing the ED’s special leave petition against the High Court’s May 29 judgment. The matter has been listed for further hearing on December 14.
During the hearing, the Supreme Court was informed that the Delhi Police was also in the process of challenging the High Court’s decision to quash the predicate offence FIR registered by its Economic Offences Wing (EOW).
The ED’s plea challenges the quashing of an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), along with the underlying FIR concerning alleged irregularities in foreign investment received by NewsClick.
The High Court had quashed FIR No. 116/2020, registered under IPC Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating) and 120B (criminal conspiracy), as well as the ED’s ECIR dated September 2, 2020. Justice Neena Bansal Krishna had held that even if the allegations were accepted in their entirety, they did not disclose the offences alleged in the FIR.
The High Court had also observed that the ED’s allegations of criminal conspiracy were not supported by material establishing an illegal objective or the use of unlawful means. It further noted that despite around 18 months of investigation, “nothing incriminating till date has been found or placed on record”.
The case arose from an investment of USD 1.5 million (approximately Rs 9.59 crore) received by NewsClick in April 2018 from US-based Worldwide Media Holdings LLC in exchange for a 7.69 per cent stake in the company. Investigating agencies had alleged that the shares were issued at an inflated valuation to circumvent foreign direct investment restrictions applicable to digital news media and that a substantial portion of the funds was diverted towards salaries, consultancy fees, rent and other expenses.
NewsClick and Purkayastha denied the allegations, maintaining that the investment was routed through legitimate banking channels and complied with the applicable regulatory framework. The High Court also referred to the Reserve Bank of India’s response indicating that the inward remittance was received under the automatic route, with no delay in share issuance or reporting under FEMA regulations.
Relying on the legal position laid down by the Supreme Court, the High Court had held that once the predicate offence FIR was quashed, the money-laundering proceedings could not independently survive. It consequently quashed the entire ECIR.
The proceedings are separate from the UAPA case registered by the Delhi Police Special Cell against NewsClick and Purkayastha over allegations relating to foreign funding and a purported conspiracy.
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