Rajasthan High Court grants bail to man booked for sharing military information with Pakistan Intelligence

The Rajasthan High Court recently granted bail to a man booked under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) for allegedly providing details of the military to Pakistani Intelligence through social media [Vikas Kumar vs State of Rajasthan]..Single-judge Justice Anil Kumar Upman noted that there was delay on part of the prosecution to conclude the trial as mandated under section 437(6) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). As per this provision, in any non-bailable offence which is triable by a Magistrate, if the trial is not completed within a period of 60 days from the first date fixed for recording evidence, then the accused shall be granted bail. However, the Magistrate can record reasons for denying bail. "Thus, 60 days have already passed from the first date fixed for recording prosecution evidence. More so, the trial is still pending and statements of only two witnesses out of the total 37 have been recorded and the delay in conclusion of trial are not attributable to the applicant. This lethargic attitude of the prosecution is seriously violating the fundamental right of speedy trial of the petitioner as guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, and in such a situation, the conditional liberty must override the statutory embargo," the judge said in the November 29 order. The judge added that the trial was not completed within the prescribed time period and it will take long time to conclude.Thus, the Court granted bail to the accused.As per the first information report (FIR), secret information was received by the Technical Cell of the Department that the accused Vikas Kumar, working in Gangapur Army Area, was in contact with the Pakistani Intelligence through social media and he was providing military related confidential information to them.He was booked by the CID branch of the Jaipur Police on September 7, 2020 for offences under Sections 3 (spying) and 3/9 (sharing secret information with enemies) of the Official Secrets Act 1923 and Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code (criminal conspiracy).Subsequently, the pre-charge evidence was recorded on April 17, 2023 and charges were framed against the applicant. Thereafter, the matter was fixed for recording prosecution evidence on May 1, 2023..In its order, the judge noted that the petitioner was facing trial before the Magistrate Court and in any case, he cannot be awarded sentence of more than seven years. "The petitioner is in custody since June 8, 2020 and thus, he has already undergone one-half of the maximum sentence which can be awarded in case of conviction. Also, till date, out of 37 cited witnesses, only two witnesses have been examined for the last six months since the first date i.e., May 1, 2023 fixed for prosecution witnesses," the bench underscored.With these observations, the bench granted bail to the petitioner..Advocates Kapil Prakash Mathur and Sukhdev Singh Solanki appeared for the Petitioner.Public Prosecutor Babulal Nasuna represented the State..[Read Order]