NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha came out of jail, Supreme Court had declared his arrest illegal.

New Delhi: Prabir Purkayastha, founder and editor-in-chief of news portal ‘Newsclick’, was released from Tihar Jail on Wednesday, hours after the Supreme Court termed his arrest illegal. Purkayastha was in jail since November 2 last year. Purkayastha was arrested by the Special Cell of Delhi Police on October 3 last year in a case registered under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). The allegation against Purkayastha was that ‘NewsClick’ was allegedly being used for pro-China propaganda. Money was received in kind.

Prabir Purkayastha came out of jail

According to Purkayastha’s lawyer Arshdeep Singh Khurana, Purkayastha came out of jail number 10 of Rohini prison at 9 pm. Purkayastha’s family members and friends welcomed him outside the jail premises. The Supreme Court termed Purkayastha’s arrest in a case under UAPA as ‘illegal in the eyes of law’ and ordered his release from custody.

The Court said that the right to life and personal liberty is the most inalienable fundamental right guaranteed under Articles 20, 21 and 22 of the Constitution. The top court said that any person arrested on charges of UAPA or other offenses has a fundamental and statutory right to be informed in writing about the grounds of arrest. Justice B. R. A bench of Justices Gavai and Sandeep Mehta said that a copy of such written grounds of arrest should be given to the arrested person as soon as possible without any exception.