The Delhi High Court has denied regular bail to Habib Ur Rahman, who is accused of possessing classified military documents and allegedly facilitating their transmission to an official of the Pakistan High Commission, Live Law reported. The allegations are allegations at this stage and have not been proved at trial.
Justice Sanjeev Narula observed that although allegations involving national security call for close scrutiny, the invocation of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, or the possibility of a sentence extending to 14 years cannot, by itself, conclusively determine a bail application, Live Law reported. "An allegation bearing upon national security calls for close scrutiny; it does not place the matter beyond the Court's bail jurisdiction," the Court observed.
Rahman was arrested in July 2021 in connection with an FIR registered by the Crime Branch under Sections 3 and 9 of the Official Secrets Act, along with various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, Live Law reported. IANS reported he was arrested on July 14, 2021, in an FIR registered at the Crime Branch police station.
According to the prosecution, classified military documents concerning military training, the operationalisation of the Armed Forces Special Operations Division (AFSOD) and intelligence material were recovered from Rahman, and Army authorities reportedly verified the documents as genuine, classified and sensitive, Live Law reported.
Bar and Bench reported that Rahman, who is wheelchair-bound and suffering from several ailments, was previously granted medical bail, and that in January this year the Court refused to extend his interim medical bail and said he could instead apply for regular bail. In the order passed on September 25, Justice Sanjeev Narula refused regular bail after noting the seriousness of the allegations, while also acknowledging that Rahman had spent over three years in jail and that the seriousness of a charge cannot legitimise detention for an indefinite period when the trial is unlikely to conclude within a reasonable time.