The Supreme Court on Monday directed the All India Institute of Medical Sciences to set up a medical board to examine the health of Prabir Purkayastha, the founder of the news website NewsClick, and submit a report on his condition in two weeks, reported The Hindu.
The bench of Justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta instructed the medical board to “consider [Puryakashtha’s] jail records and complete medical history”. Puryakastha, 74, is imprisoned in Tihar Jail under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, India’s anti-terrorism law.
The Delhi Police had on October 3 raided several journalists associated with NewsClick and arrested Purkayastha and Amit Chakraborty, NewsClick’s head of human resources.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Purkayastha, argued that the authorities of Tihar Jail had filed an incorrect report on his client’s medical condition.
Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, for the Delhi Police, said that special treatment cannot be meted out to certain individuals, adding that “hospitals are meant for everybody, not for money bags”.
“You release him then,” said Mehta, noting that Purkayastha was in the Delhi Police’s custody. “He will get himself treated in the best hospitals.”
In a previous hearing, the Supreme Court had ordered the jail authorities to ensure that Puryakastha’s medical examination is done.
Purkayastha had appealed to the Supreme Court after the Delhi High Court on October 13 dismissed a petition against his and Chakraborty’s arrest under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The High Court had said that their actions “directly impact the stability, integrity and sovereignty of the country”.
The case was registered after The New York Times alleged in an August 5 report that NewsClick had received money from American businessman Neville Roy Singham, who worked closely with the “Chinese government media machine” to spread its propaganda.
The Delhi Police’s first information report describes Singham as an active member of the propaganda department of the Communist Party of China.
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