New Delhi, Oct 28: The Supreme Court has set aside the Rajasthan High Court's order granting regular bail to Jhabra Ram, a resident of Jaisalmer who is accused of sharing sensitive military information with foreign handlers said to belong to a Pakistani intelligence agency, and has cancelled his bail. A bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and Prasanna B. Varale directed him to surrender before the trial court or the investigating agency within two weeks, failing which the State shall take him into custody in accordance with law.

Source: Live Law

According to the prosecution, the accused was in contact with the foreign handlers and transmitted sensitive military photographs, videos and troop movement details from Pokhran and Jaisalmer in exchange for financial benefits. He was arrested on January 30, 2026, under Sections 3 and 9 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923 and Sections 152 and 238(b) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. The allegations are untested, the court expressed no opinion on the merits of the case, and the presumption of innocence applies.

The High Court had granted bail on May 18, 2026, on the ground that the written grounds of arrest had not been furnished to the accused. Setting that order aside, the Supreme Court — in a judgment authored by Justice Varale — held that a defect in the mode of communicating the grounds of arrest does not by itself justify bail unless demonstrable prejudice is shown. The court held that the record showed substantial and effective compliance with Article 22(1) of the Constitution and Section 47 of the BNSS: statutory notices had been served before the FIR, the arrest memo was read over to the accused in the presence of two witnesses and bears his signature, and his brother was informed of the arrest by telephone.

Source: LawTrend

"A hyper-technical objection regarding the form or mode of communicating grounds of arrest cannot be treated as a self-executing, blanket key to unlock regular bail, bypassing the core parameters governing bail jurisprudence," the bench held, adding that in the absence of demonstrable prejudice or denial of an opportunity to defend, an alleged procedural defect cannot automatically invalidate detention, more so in cases involving grave allegations of espionage affecting national security.

Source: LawChakra

What happens next: Jhabra Ram must surrender within two weeks of the October 28 judgment, and the trial in the Official Secrets Act case will proceed. The Supreme Court clarified that its observations are confined to the bail question and shall have no bearing on the trial or the merits of the allegations.