The Delhi High Court has dismissed the regular bail plea of Habib Ur Rahman, an accused in an Official Secrets Act case involving the alleged possession and transmission of classified military documents to an official at the Pakistan High Commission, news agency IANS reported on October 23. The allegations against Rahman have not been tested at trial and he is presumed innocent.
Source: IANS via Hi India
A single-judge Bench of Justice Sanjeev Narula, in an order passed on September 25, held that the material on record prima facie connected Rahman with the chain of transmission and that his prolonged custody and medical condition did not justify his release at this stage, according to the reports.
"The gravity of the offence is an important consideration, but it does not relieve the Court of the duty to assess the case on its own facts. An allegation bearing upon national security calls for a close scrutiny; it does not place the matter beyond the Court's bail jurisdiction," the court said, as quoted by IANS and Bar and Bench.
Source: Bar and Bench
What the prosecution alleges
Rahman was arrested on July 14, 2021, in connection with an FIR registered at the Crime Branch police station under Sections 3 and 9 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, along with Indian Penal Code provisions relating to criminal breach of trust, destruction of evidence, theft, house trespass, criminal conspiracy and common intention.
According to the prosecution, Rahman was apprehended with copies of documents concerning military training, the operationalisation of the Armed Forces Special Operations Division (AFSOD), an intelligence summary and other military material marked confidential or restricted. India Legal reported that the prosecution alleges Rahman acted as an intermediary between co-accused Naik Clerk Paramjeet Kumar and Rana Muhammad Qasim Zia, stated to be an official of the Pakistan High Commission, and that Army authorities verified the documents as genuine, classified and sensitive.
Source: India Legal
Everything attributed to the prosecution above is an allegation. The court expressed only a prima facie view for the purpose of bail; it made no finding of guilt, and the case is yet to be tried.
Bar and Bench reported that Rahman is wheelchair-bound and suffers from several ailments, and had earlier been granted medical bail, which the court declined to extend in January, asking him to apply for regular bail instead. The court acknowledged he has spent over three years in custody, directed that the trial be given due priority, and asked the jail authorities to ensure timely medical treatment, according to legal reporting of the order.
Source: Live Law