Delhi court pardons NewsClick HR head Amit Chakravarty as he turns approver

New Delhi: Delhi's Patiala House Court Tuesday allowed Amit Chakravarty, HR head of news portal NewsClick, to turn approver in the case. 

The court granted pardon to him in the case. 

The Delhi Police recently filed an FIR registered under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, following allegations that news portal NewsClick received huge money for pro-China propaganda.

The Special Cell of Delhi Police had arrested Chakravarty and news portal's founder and Editor-in-Chief Prabir Purkayastha on October 3.

They are currently in judicial custody.

According to the FIR, a large amount of funds to the news portal came from China to "disrupt the sovereignty of India" and cause disaffection against the country.

It also alleged Purkayastha conspired with a group -- People's Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS) -- to sabotage the electoral process during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Raids were conducted at 88 locations in Delhi and seven in other states on October 3 on the suspects named in the FIR and those that surfaced in the analysis of data, police said.

Around 300 electronic gadgets were also seized from the offices of NewsClick and the residences of the journalists who were examined.

Following the raids, 46 individuals, including nine female journalists, were questioned by the Special Cell.