Rajeev Sharma, through his bail application, claimed police failed to file a charge sheet within a specific timeframe
New Delhi:
A Delhi court has dismissed journalist Rajeev Sharma’s default bail application, accused of espionage under the Official Secrets Act. He was arrested along with a Chinese national and another accused in September by Delhi police for allegedly passing sensitive information to Chinese intelligence.
On November 16, Metropolitan Magistrate Vasundhara Chhaunkar, while rejecting the plea, declared that, “ given the nature of a thorough investigation required for such serious offenses, the court does not hesitate to consider that the law surety by the penalty provided for in article 3 of the law on official secrecy will be squarely covered by article 167 (2) (a) (i) where the maximum period of detention will be 90 days and not 60 days. “
The court also noted that “the object of the official law should also be kept in mind, namely national security, where actions of aiding an enemy state against India are strongly condemned.”
Rajeev Sharma’s candidacy was moved by his counsel, senior lawyer Adish C Aggarwala and lawyers Aditya Singh and Akshat Goel. Sharma, through this default bail application, claimed that the police failed to file the charge sheet within a specific time frame.
The petition said the allegations in the FIR, even prima facie, do not disclose any breach. The documents, which were allegedly seized from the petitioner, are general documents and have nothing to do with the law on official secrecy.
The plea also argued that the investigative body alleged that evidence collected against the accused included information / documents showing a threat to national security and foreign relations. The document (s), if any, are general documents and have no bearing on national security and foreign relations. No general document can be qualified as a threat, even prima facie, without reading such documents. It is strange that the police captioned the 79 documents as secret defense documents without confirming it to the ministry.
No one from the Defense Ministry has been named in this case. A guilty person unless there are substantial charges with sufficient evidence. Any act of loyal journalism cannot be scuttled by imposing the draconian provisions of the OSA, according to the plea.
The Delhi HC had also recently ordered Delhi police to file a status report in the case, while hearing his request for bail. Earlier, Sharma’s bail application was dismissed by the trial court.
Police said a Chinese woman and her Nepalese business partner were also arrested for paying her large sums of money channeled through shell companies. The Delhi Police Special Cell said Sharma, a resident of Pitampura in New Delhi, “was found in possession of certain classified defense-related documents.
