While noting that there was a failure to submit any evidence-based response to the specific queries put forth to the State Counsel, and also the fact that the prosecution sanction under the Official Secrets Act had not yet been granted, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has granted bail to a man who was booked for spying for Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.

The High Court was considering a petition filed under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, for the grant of regular bail in a case registered under Section(s) 152, 238(B) of BNS, 2023 and Section 5 of the Official Secret Information Act, 2023.

The Single Bench of Justice Vinod S. Bhardwaj noted, “Learned State Counsel is also not in a position to furnish any such particulars, nor could he clarify whether the said video pertained to the period between the incident at Pahalgam and/or the commencement of “Operation Sindoor” or otherwise.”

“Having heard learned counsel appearing on behalf of the respective parties and taking into consideration the nature of allegations levelled against the petitioner, the period of custody undergone by him, the failure to submit any evidence based response to the specific queries put forth by this Court to the State Counsel and also the fact that the prosecution sanction under the Official Secrets Act, 1923 has not yet been granted, thereby precluding the commencement of trial, his otherwise clean antecedents and arguable issues that arise for consideration, I deem it appropriate to enlarge the petitioner on regular bail to the satisfaction of the trial Court”, it added.

Senior Advocate Deepender Singh represented the Petitioner while Asst. Advocate General Chhavi Sharma represented the Respondent.

Factual Background

The First Information Report emanated from the disclosure statement of the petitioner, Davender, registered under the Arms Act for having uploaded his own photographs with pistols and a gun on Facebook. It was stated in the complaint that during the course of interrogation, he disclosed that he had travelled to Pakistan on a religious trip, where he came into contact with some persons who identified themselves as Shah Ji, Rasid Mohammad, Arslan and a female named Riza. It was averred that these persons facilitated his stay and other arrangements and were associated with espionage activities.

It was further alleged that the accused had shared sensitive information, including details relating to Army establishments at Patiala and had also attempted, at the behest of the said foreign contacts, to involve other persons in such activities. On the basis of the aforesaid disclosure and the material emerging therefrom, it was found that a cognizable offence was made out for an offence under Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and Section 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923.

Reasoning

The Bench noted that the State Counsel was not in a position to refer to any specific material based on which it may be assumed that any video or photographs had been transmitted or shared by the petitioner herein with any other person, including those based in Pakistan. The Bench also took note of the fact that the State Counsel was not in a position to furnish any such particulars, nor could he clarify whether the said video pertained to the period between the incident at Pahalgam and/or the commencement of “Operation Sindoor” or otherwise.

Thus, considering the period of custody undergone by him, the failure to submit any evidence-based response to the specific queries put forth to the State Counsel and also the fact that the prosecution sanction under the Official Secrets Act had not yet been granted, and his otherwise clean antecedents, the Bench enlarged the petitioner on regular bail.

Cause Title: Davender Singh Alias Davinder Singh v. State of Haryana (Neutral Citation: 2026:PHHC:050691)

Appearance

Petitioner: Senior Advocate Deepender Singh, Advocates Dushyant Rana, Nipun Gupta, Meyank Sarpal

Respondent: Asstt. Advocate General Chhavi Sharma, ASI Jasbir Singh

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Punjab & Haryana High CourtJustice Vinod S. Bhardwaj

Tulip Kanth

Assistant Editor

Tulip Kanth is an Assistant Editor at Verdictum having over 5 years of experience in the field of legal journalism and editing. She extensively covers judgments of the Supreme Court, High Courts as well as Tribunals. She has previously worked with a legal publishing website where she oversaw the work of other editors and has also created updates on notifications of different Government Ministries. She holds an English Honours Degree from SGTB Khalsa College, Delhi University and has completed her LLB course with specialisation in Corporate Law from Amity University.