NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has instructed the All India Institute Of Medical Science (
AIIMS
) to form a medical board to assess the health condition of
Prabir Purkayastha
, the founder of NewsClick.
The court has asked AIIMS to submit a report within the next two weeks.
"Taking into consideration all this, it will be appropriate that the medical condition is examined by a board appointed by the AIIMS director. The board shall also consider the jail records and complete medical history of petitioner," a bench of Justices B R Gavai and Sandeep Mehta said.
Last week, a Delhi court extended the judicial custody of Prabir Purkayastha and Amit Chakraborty, the human resources head, by 21 days in a case filed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The police were criticized by the court for their slow investigation. The police have been given 20 days to file a chargesheet. Both individuals were arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police on October 3.
According to the FIR, significant funds were received by the news portal from China in order to "disrupt the sovereignty of India" and create disaffection against the country. It is also alleged that Purkayastha conspired with the People's Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS) to disrupt the electoral process during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
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