Karnataka HC denies bail to man accused of sharing military base pics with ISI

The High Court of Karnataka has rejected bail to Jeetendar Singh who was arrested for sharing photographs of naval and Indian Army bases with Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI).

Justice K Natarajan said that the possibility of Pakistan targeting India by using missiles over these places cannot be ruled out. “The information given by the petitioner/accused is dangerous to the safety and security of the nation,” the court said.

The petitioner Jeetendar Singh, a resident of Cottonpet in Bengaluru, was arrested on November 19, 2021 and was remanded in judicial custody. The Anti-Terrorist Cell of Central Crime Branch (CCB) took up investigation and filed the charge sheet under various provisions including the Official Secrets Act, 1923. The charge sheet has named two other accused, both Pakistani nationals.

According to the prosecution, the petitioner had posed as an Army personnel and was in touch with a lady through social media. The data collected in the investigation revealed that the petitioner had sent 24 messages, 14 images and engaged in four video calls with the lady. Similarly, the lady from Pakistan had sent 30 messages and eight images.

The prosecution case was that the petitioner was not just chatting with the lady, but was also sharing images of official secrets like Military, Naval bases and other important places. The prosecution also stated that the petitioner had destroyed another mobile phone used by him and the police were unable to retrieve the information.

The petitioner contended that he wore military uniform only to attract the lady and claimed that except using uniform and sharing some photographs there is no incriminating material against him. The petitioner also said that he had been in custody for more than seven months and said the charge sheet is filed and the punishment for the alleged offences is maximum three years imprisonment.

Justice Natarajan observed that the offence is very serious. The court also said that Section 3 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, prescribes that punishment may be extended to 14 years imprisonment and in other cases to three years. Provisions of Section 3 (c) are attracted against the petitioner as he has collected and communicated the information to Pakistani nationals which is likely to affect sovereignty and integrity of India,” the court said.