News Analysis India

Tag: Newslaundry

  • Delhi HC seeks Income Tax Department stand on Newslaundry’s plea concerning leakage of seized material

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court Friday sought Income Tax Department’s stand on a plea by online news portal Newslaundry and its co-founder Abhinandan Sekhri to restrain any leakage of the material seized during a survey operation held earlier this month.

    A bench of Justices Manmohan and Navin Chawla granted time to the department’s counsel to seek instructions on giving an undertaking against any leak and asked that the concerned officer join the proceedings on the next date of hearing i.e. September 21.

    “Ask your client (to join proceedings) so that we can close it then and there. Let him be by your side…If he gives a statement, we can put a quietus to the matter,” said the bench to the lawyer who asserted that the fear of leak was a ‘bald apprehension’.

    Data of thousands of assessees is in safe custody of the department and it can be used only in accordance with law, said counsel for the department Ajit Shamra.

    During the course of the hearing, the bench orally observed, “Normally, no one’s data should be leaked” as it is “ethically, morally and legally” wrong.

    “We have seen it on channels, people’s data that has been seized is being displayed…It should not happen,” it remarked.

    Senior counsel Siddharth Dave, appearing for the petitioners, said that four notices under the Income Tax Act were issued to his client and a survey was held in the news portal’s premises on September 10, during which several devices, including a mobile phone and a laptop belonging to the petitioner co-founder, were seized by the IT authorities, which contained several information which were of no relevance to any income tax proceedings.

    The data may contain personal photos and information pertaining to investigative stories, he said.

    The senior lawyer argued that any data breach would be in violation of right to privacy and therefore a direction should be passed to the IT authorities to not leak any data and delete whatever is of no relevance to the proceedings.

    It was also contended that any seizure during a survey operation was beyond the scope of survey and that no “hash value” of the seized data was given.

    “Please direct them not to leak seized data collected in this purported garb of a survey and allow me to delete (non I-T related) data,” the senior lawyer submitted.

    In the petition filed through advocate Nipun Katyal, the petitioners have said that the income tax officers and authorities do not have any power to interrupt the ordinary peaceful citizens of the country in any manner they like by utilizing the large powers given to them, without keeping strictly within the four corners of those large powers.

    “The Petitioners are heading a news organization, the Petitioners herein have sources, contacts and other information on the digital machines. It is the fiduciary duty of the Petitioners to protect them and keep it confidential.

    “It is further submitted that the legal communication regarding existing cases is present in the personal laptop and phone of the Petitioners. If in any circumstances, the leaks are committed, it shall be a clear breach of the attorney client privilege as well as whistleblowers confidentiality,” the plea says.

  • Tax probe attempt to ‘stifle’ independent journalism: Newslaundry, Newsclick after survey

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Online news platform Newslaundry on Saturday said it does business “honestly and with integrity” while another such portal Newsclick said investigation against it by various agencies including the latest Income Tax Department survey is an attempt to “stifle” independent journalism.

    The tax department surveyed the office of Newslaundry located at Sarvodaya Enclave in south Delhi on Friday along with that of Newsclick in Saidulajab area (south Delhi) on charges of alleged tax evasion.

    “We have nothing to hide and have done everything by the book and are not in any breach or violation of any law. We conduct our business honestly and with integrity,” Newslaundry co-founder Abhinandan Sekhri said in a message posted on his Twitter handle.

    Thanks again for your support. My statement is below. You can support us herehttps://t.co/lefMXTG3xwPlease spread the message. pic.twitter.com/YCDni2AIKi
    — Abhinandan Sekhri (@AbhinandanSekhr) September 11, 2021
    He said the tax team told him he “cannot” speak to his lawyer and the law requires him to comply “without seeking legal advice” adding that the officials were courteous and professional.

    He said “no signed hash value of the data copied” was provided to him and that he considered this as violation of his fundamental right to privacy.

    A hash value is a numeric value that uniquely identifies data.

    Hash values represent large amounts of data as much smaller numeric values, so they are used with digital signatures.

    Sekhri said the tax team comprising 6-7 people arrived at their office around 12.15 pm and left around 12.40 am on Saturday.

    “They searched and looked through all computer devices at the premises. My personal mobile phone, laptop and a couple of office machines were taken control of and all the data on them downloaded by the IT team,” he said.

    Sekhri said this was the second visit by the tax authorities to his office, the first being in June, and they had given “all documents related to our funding and accounts” to the officials then.

    “We will cooperate in whatever way we are required to by the law.

    We will also continue to practice public interest journalism which is why we exist,” he said.

    Our support comes from people who value public interest news and chose to subscribe to Newslaundry, not through government or corporate advertisements or public relation exercises, Sekhri said, adding that the online portal is proud of the model it has chosen and championed.

    Tax officials had said that separate survey operations on the two news portals were conducted to verify certain tax payment details and remittances made by the organisations.

    As part of a survey operation, carried out under Section 133A of the Income Tax Act, 1961, tax officials cover only the business premises of an assessee and those linked to it and not their residential addresses.

    However, they are authorised to seize documents, computer and electronic devices as part of the surprise action.

    Newsclick said the tax team “recorded the statement of its Editor-in-Chief Prabir Purkayastha; impounded his phone; and took away documents, what they called “loose papers from the premises”.

    “They also took email dumps of Prabir, editor Pranjal, and various administrative and financial accounts related to Newsclick,” it said in a statement posted on its Twitter handle.

    Around 30 employees and support staff of Newsclick were in the office throughout the survey and their phones were temporarily seized, and they were not allowed to use their computers and work, it said.

    Newsclick said the latest action against them “appears to relate to the same false and unfounded allegations being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate and the Economic Offences Wing, Delhi Police. We have these allegations challenged in the courts”.

    “These investigations by various agencies, and these selective allegations, are attempts to stifle the independent journalism of media organisations, including Newsclick,” it said.

    Tax officials who reached the Newsclick office around noon on Friday left at midnight.

    Newsclick, Purkayastha and other executives were raided by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) earlier in February under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and that investigation is linked to alleged dubious foreign funding received by its registered company, which runs the news portal.

  • IT officials conduct ‘surveys’ at NewsClick, Newslaundry offices

    By Online Desk

    NEW DELHI: Income Tax officials visited the offices of few news portals to conduct ‘surveys’ on Friday.

    Notably, the IT department clarified that these visits are being carried out to conduct ‘surveys’ and not ‘raids’.

    Accordingly, the IT officials visited the offices of news portals NewsClick and Newslaundry to conduct surveys.

    People in the know of the developments said that the ‘survey’ operations are being conducted to verify certain tax payment details of these organisations.

    The officials reportedly took the phones of all the employees present in the office and switched them off. 

    The staffers were also not allowed to leave the premises until the operation concluded. 

    In February this year, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had raided the NewsClick office as well as the homes of its editors in connection with allegations of money laundering. Watch the video to know more.