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To refresh everyone’s memory:
- A report in NYT had alleged a nexus between Chinese Communist Party lobbyist, Neville Roy Singham, and Newsclick. The Delhi police soon arrested the founder of Newsclick, Prabir Purakayastha, who is also a member of the CPI(M).
- The arrest has been condemned by eminent intellectuals. It has been pointed out that your FOE includes the right to espouse pro-China positions and the CPI(M) has been doing so since inception. No illegality in it and zero basis for arrest and detention.
- Meanwhile, noted jurist and NLSIU alum Gautam Bhatia got dragged into the case, as the police alleged that he had been approached by Xiaomi and Vivo to write articles favourable to China and to these companies, in exchange for funding for a think tank that Bhatia was planning to start. But it was not shown that this actually happened and no think tank was started by Bhatia. The naming of Bhatia was condemned by eminent intellectuals, including NLSIU alum and Oxford professor Tarunabh Khaitan. On LI, some critical readers felt that Bhatia may have been regarded as a “useful idiot” by companies linked to the Chinese government, but again there is no illegality in it and it is routine for lawyers to push for corporate interests through consultation fees. Several senior lawyers do so.
- It was also shared on LI that another NLSIU alum, Rishabh Bailey, who is the son of NewsClick co-founder Geetha Hariharan, had worked for NewsClick and one of Neville Roy Singham’s companie, but he has not been named. Which suggests that the police singled out Bhatia because of his high-profile.
And now, we see terror funding charges against Purakayastha. Also, the Gautam Bhatia link seems to have been dropped. Thus, the plain fact is that these charges are based on flimsy evidence and speculation. You may not be happy with China, but it is not a crime to support China, just as many people support Netanyahu and Trump. Further, Xiaomi and Vivo are legally operating in India and any lawyer can work for them. By that logic, if AZB represents Xiaomi in a tax case, or Anand & Anand dies so in an IP case, then they also become anti-national!