‘Judgment indicates what we have always held’, says Newsclick founder after Delhi HC quashes money laundering charges

2 min readNew DelhiJun 11, 2026 04:00 AM IST

After Delhi High Court’s verdict quashing money laundering proceedings, and a predicate offence of cheating against digital news portal NewsClick and its founder Prabir Purkayastha was made public on Wednesday, Purkayastha told the Indian Express, “The judgement has indicated what we have always held.”

The court, noting that the offences alleged by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) are not made out, held that continuing the FIR “is nothing but a gross abuse of the process of law”.

The FIR by the EOW was lodged on August 26, 2020, alleging violations of FDI regulations. Thereafter, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) lodged a complaint based on the EOW’s FIR, on September 2, 2020.

In June 2021, the Delhi HC had granted Purkayastha interim protection against coercive steps in the ED case and a month later, in the EOW case as well.

The protection of anticipatory bail in the EOW case was made final in July 2025. The Delhi HC, while granting the anticipatory bail, had taken the prolonged investigation, as well as the fact that Purkayastha is “a respectable man, aged about 75 years, having roots in the society”, to reason that there is “no likelihood of tampering with the evidence or of influencing the witnesses”.

In August 2023, the Special Cell of Delhi Police carried out extensive raids at the residential and official premises of PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt Ltd, and lodged an FIR under the stringent terror law, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Purkayastha was arrested in connection with this FIR on October 3, 2023. He then challenged his arrest and remand and the violation of due procedures of custody, including not being provided with the grounds of arrest. He said he was also not allowed to inform his lawyer before being produced for police remand at the time of his arrest.

The Supreme Court, in a landmark verdict in May 2024, declaring his arrest and the remand as invalid, had extended procedural safeguards to arrests under the UAPA as well. The verdict came after the Delhi police had filed a chargesheet in this case in March that year. The SC had also directed his release on bail in this case, after he spent seven months in jail.

Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court

Professional Profile

Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express.

Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare).

Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others.
She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020.
With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram

Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025)
Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles:

High-Profile Case Coverage

She has extensively covered the various legal battles – including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission – pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy.

Signature Style

Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system.

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