Delhi High Court asks Registrar General to implement order on creation of database to preserve right to default bail

The Delhi High Court on Monday asked its Registrar General to expeditiously implement a 2018 order which called for the creation of a database and software for the capital's district courts, with a view to preserving the right to default bail of an accused..Justice Anu Malhotra passed the direction while referring to the observations made by the High Court in Arvind Kumar Saxena v. State..In the Arvind Kumar case, the Court had asked the Registrar General to explore the possibility of creation of a database in which the dates of pending remand applications filed during investigation could be entered.The Court had also said that the database should include the dates of arrest, dates by when the requisite charge-sheet is to be filed in terms of Section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and the date when the said charge-sheet has been filed..Justice Malhotra made the observation while denying bail to a Nepalese national named Sher Singh in the 2020 espionage case involving journalist Rajeev Sharma.Singh had informed the Court that he could not avail the remedy for default bail because he could not hire any advocate for his defence..Singh was charged with several offences under the Official Secrets Act as well as Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).The Delhi Police accused Singh of being co-director of one of the Chinese companies through which secret, confidential and sensitive documents were being conveyed by the co-accused and journalist Rajeev Sharma to Chinese intelligence officers.It was alleged that the funding for the alleged espionage acts was received by Sharma through the shell company of which Singh was the co-director.Sharma had earlier been granted bail in the case filed by the Delhi Police as well as the one filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED)..Singh argued that he had been falsely implicated in the case. He stated in his plea that he is uneducated and illiterate, and a citizen of Nepal who has been residing in India for a substantial period.He had come to India to find a suitable job to cater to the needs of his family, the Court was told.The accused further said that he was employed as an office peon-cum-driver and was not aware of the business of the company, which he believed was involved in the pharmaceutical sector.However, the Delhi Police told the Court that the main accused Sharma was involved in procurement of confidential/sensitive documents/material and information and its subsequent handover to Chinese Intelligence officers.The Court had held,"...in view of the gravity of the offence affecting the national security of the country, there is no ground for grant of bail and the bail application is declined.".Advocates Venamra Mahaseth, Bhaskar Tripathi and Abhishek Singh appeared for the applicant. The State was represented through APP Shoaib Haider..[Read Order]