Accused cannot be denied chargesheet documents even under Official Secrets Act, Supreme Court rules

New Delhi: The Supreme Court, on Tuesday, stated that an accused person cannot be denied access to documents related to the chargesheet merely because the case has been registered under the Official Secrets Act (OSA).

A bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and Atul S Chandurkar emphasised that the right to a fair trial, which forms an integral part of the fundamental right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution, must be balanced with national security concerns through appropriate arrangements rather than outright denial of documents.

The court observed that when a case is instituted on a police report, the Magistrate is required to furnish the accused, free of cost, copies of the police report, FIR, statements of witnesses, and other relevant documents forwarded with the charge-sheet. The only exception is for voluminous documents, where the accused may be permitted to inspect them in court.

"An accused cannot be denied access to documents forming part of the charge-sheet... because withholding such documents could seriously prejudice the accused's right to a fair trial," the bench held.

The recent judgment came on a plea by V K Singh, a retired Major General of the Indian Army who had also served as Joint Secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat (R&AW) between 2000 and 2004.

Singh was booked under the Official Secrets Act for his 2007 book titled India’s External Intelligence – Secrets of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). 

The prosecution alleged that the book revealed classified information, including names of officials, station codes, technical projects, and signals intelligence, thereby endangering national security. 

The publisher, Vivek Garg, was also named as an accused.

In 2008, the charge-sheet was filed with a request to keep classified documents in a sealed cover. Singh moved an application under Section 207 of the CrPC seeking copies of certain documents mentioned in the charge-sheet. While the trial court allowed the plea in 2009, the Delhi High Court modified the order, permitting only inspection of the documents.

Appearing for Singh, advocate Prashant Bhushan argued that the High Court order failed to uphold the mandate of Section 207 CrPC, as the documents formed part of the charge-sheet and were intended to be used against the accused.

The court agreed, noting that the prosecution did not claim the documents were irrelevant for the trial. The sole objection was on grounds of confidentiality and potential leakage if copies were supplied.

Referring to its earlier judgment in the Satyen Bhowmick case, the bench stated that invocation of the OSA alone cannot justify denial of documents to the accused.

However, to balance the competing interests of fair trial and national security, the court sought an equitable proposal from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Additional Solicitor General D P Singh submitted that typed copies could be provided with strict conditions: the documents could be used only for court proceedings and not circulated in any form, including electronic or print media or social platforms. 

The accused and his counsel would also be allowed to inspect the originals in court if required.

The court set aside the High Court order and modified the trial court’s direction.The bench directed the prosecution to supply typed copies of the specified documents to the accused within two months for his defence. Inspection, if needed, would be permitted during court proceedings. 

The court also directed the appellant to file an undertaking before the trial court within one month that the documents would not be made public in any manner.