The allegation was that the company had received foreign direct investment (FDI) totaling Rs 9.59 crore from Worldwide Media Holdings LLC, based in the US, during the fiscal year 2018-19.

The complaint claimed that this investment was made by significantly inflating the valuation of the company's shares, ostensibly to evade the prescribed 26% cap on FDI in a digital news website.

On 24 August 2023, the Delhi High Court took notice of an application filed by the city police, directing NewsClick's founder, Prabir Purkayastha, to respond to their request to vacate a previous interim order from 2021.

These events were part of a larger controversy stemming from allegations made in August 2023, following an investigation by The New York Times, which claimed that NewsClick was funded by a U.S. based tech mogul for promoting Chinese propaganda.

The Club called upon the government to disclose the specifics of the matter and conducted a spontaneous protest meeting in solidarity with the affected journalists, resolving to continue supporting media freedom.

[17] On the same day, the Executive Committee of Editors Guild of India (EGI) expressed concern regarding the raids conducted at the residences of senior journalists, highlighting the seizure of their electronic devices and their detention for questioning by Delhi police.

They said that the targeting of media personnel and the unprecedented nature of these actions, emphasizing that the government's alleged objective was to suppress press freedom, particularly following NewsClick's coverage of labor and agricultural issues.

[22] They asserted that the BJP government persistently undermined press freedom over the past nine years, utilizing investigative agencies to suppress various media outlets, including the British Broadcasting Corporation, Newslaundry, Dainik Bhaskar, Bharat Samachar, the Kashmir Walla, and The Wire, among others.

They pointed out that regressive policies like the Information Technology Rules 2021 had constrained the media's ability to report objectively, ultimately impacting India's global reputation as a mature democracy.