A special court on Wednesday allowed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to record the statement of activist-journalist Gautam Navlakha in connection with its money laundering probe against online news portal NewsClick. Navlakha, who was arrested last year by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the Elgaar Parishad case, is currently lodged in Taloja Central Jail in Navi Mumbai. The court granted ED permission to record Navlakha's statement at the jail for four days. The ED, through Special Public Prosecutor Kavita Patil, had approached the special court earlier this week seeking to record Navlakha's statement under Section 50 (2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. As per the section, a person can be summoned to give evidence or to produce any records during investigation. Special Judge Dinesh E Kothalikar allowed the plea on Wednesday. Navlakha had contributed to NewsClick till his arrest last year. The ED had filed an Information Report against the portal earlier this year, accusing it of laundering money. Its premises were raided by the central agency, along with the residences of its editors, in February.
