The Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police are preparing to appeal against the Delhi High Court's judgment that quashed the EOW's case against news portal NewsClick and its promoter, Prabir Purkayastha. The EOW case served as the foundation for the ED's investigation into money laundering allegations against the portal.
While quashing the FIR, Justice Neena Bansal Krishna noted that in the absence of a scheduled offence, the ED's laundering probe against Purkayastha and NewsClick is automatically quashed. Sources within the ED stated that this ruling contradicts their understanding that when an investigation is underway in a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), a court cannot quash a related predicate offence until the probe is concluded. They also expressed concerns that the High Court judge either overlooked or did not fully address the ED's crucial contentions, despite having reserved the judgment for five months.
At the stage of determining the merit of the FIR, the court only needed to verify if the allegations in the complaint, if prima facie true, constitute an offence. However, the judgment delved into whether the ED had conclusively established the allegations and whether the allegations were ultimately provable—matters that typically arise during the trial stage. Sources indicated that investigating officials faced several obstacles and delays in probing the main accused in the case, as the High Court, through an order dated June 21, 2021, directed that no coercive action be taken against the petitioner, effectively halting the investigation. This order was only modified on October 10, 2025, they said.
Officials asserted that the ED and EOW had produced substantial evidence and incriminating material in support of the allegations against the petitioner, which were not reflected in the judgment. The judgment appears to proceed on the basis that nobody was deceived, whereas the case of the ED and EOW was that false representations were made to statutory authorities and banks regarding the genuineness of the investor, nature and source of funds, commercial nature of investment, and valuation of shares, sources argued.
