Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 13: Principal Sessions Judge Jammu Sanjay Parihar today rejected the bail application of Tarun Behal, owner of The Sree Times and Aasman newspaper besides several educational institutions, who has been arrested and booked under Sections 3/5 of the Official Secrets Act 1923 and 49/353 BNS at Police Station Channi Himmat.
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After hearing Public Prosecutor Anil Magotra for the UT, the court observed, “petitioner is to be examined who as off now is in police custody meaning thereby the investigation is still at the initial stage so his personal liberty can be curtailed only when it becomes imperative according to the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case”.
“The allegations are not only grave but the actions of the petitioner have the potential of threatening the security of the state. Because by sharing the list of protectees in the public domain he has directly or indirectly made dissemination of such information useful for an enemy which is likely to affect the sovereignty and integrity of India”, the court said.
“Perusal of the case diaries would show that the list of protectees is large which comprises of persons falling across the political spectrum, executive, judiciary and other public functionaries. So, their information, security credentials have been leaked thus creating a possibility of security headache for law enforcement agencies. Therefore, such a list cannot be termed as mere information but one that should have been kept secret. The allegation that the petitioner has destroyed the mobile phone before it was seized is also a grave act which has the potential to deprive recovery of data from his phone”, the Principal Sessions Judge said.
“In that background this court is not inclined to exercise discretion of granting bail because given the stage of investigation the petitioner has not been able to carve out a strong prima facie case in his favour. The application is therefore, held premature and is thus, dismissed”, the Judge said.
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