India, Feb. 22 -- The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim protection for one week against any coercive action on the news portal NewsClick, which is facing an outstanding tax demand of over Rs.19 crore, and gave the liberty to challenge the revenue department's tax demand before the Delhi High Court.

A bench comprising of justices Sanjay Kumar and KV Viswanathan and headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna, however, dismissed a writ petition filed by PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt Ltd directly before the Supreme Court under Article 32.

Instead, the bench, said, "We grant liberty to the petitioner to approach the Delhi high court...for a week, no coercive action shall be taken."

The petition was represented by senior advocates...