NEW DELHI, 14 Jun: “Friends and former colleagues” of NewsClick on Sunday demanded the closure of all remaining cases against the news portal and its founder-editor, Prabir Purkayastha, restitution for those affected, and an end to the use of probe agencies against independent journalism, days after the Delhi High Court quashed an FIR and Enforcement Directorate (ED) proceedings against them.

In a statement, the group said the court verdict has exposed the “weaponisation” of probe agencies against the media and vindicated NewsClick’s journalism. Referring to the court’s observations, it said the proceedings were found to be mala fide, arbitrary and a gross abuse of the process of law.

The signatories to the statement said Purkayastha spent 226 days in jail, and that the freezing of NewsClick’s assets led to the departure of more than 100 employees. They questioned who would be held accountable for the incarceration, loss of livelihoods and the chilling effect on independent journalism.

 The statement came days after the high court quashed a 2020 FIR lodged by the Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing and a related ED money-laundering case against the portal over alleged violations of foreign direct investment norms. In its judgment, the court held that the allegations did not disclose offences, such as cheating, criminal breach of trust or conspiracy, and termed the proceedings a “gross abuse of the process of law.”

The ED has said it will appeal against the verdict in the Supreme Court. (PTI)