‘Offence Against Bharat’: Delhi HC Denies Bail in Espionage Case

The Delhi High Court recently denied bail to one Mohsin Khan, accused of espionage, while holding that the offence is not just against an individual or group, but against the very integrity, sovereignty, and security of Bharat.

A bench led by Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma held that in matters concerning national security, the threshold for granting bail is necessarily higher, and the court must be guided by the larger interests of justice and the nation's security, rather than just the duration of incarceration.

"Such acts, where sensitive and classified information concerning the Indian Armed Forces is allegedly transmitted to foreign handlers, strike at the heart of national security and cannot be treated with leniency. These are not conventional crimes – they are crimes that compromise the trust reposed in individuals who are either part of or have access to our military establishments," the court said.

High Court emphasised that the nation sleeps peacefully only because its armed forces work relentlessly and vigilantly. It noted that it is their unwavering and unconditional duty that assures the safety and continuity of the constitutional order.

The case at hand stems from the arrest of co-accused Habibur Rehman, who had obtained highly secret and classified documents of the Indian Army from co-accused Paramjeet Kumar, a Naik Clerk in the Indian Army, and had been passing them on to his handler, Rana Muhammad Qasim Zia, an official of the Pakistan High Commission.

Mohsin Khan, who has filed plea has been accused of acting as the financial conduit by receiving funds from the said official and later transferring them to the account of Habibur Rehman, Paramjeet Kumar and other members of his family.

Both accused, Paramjeet Kumar and the present applicant, Mohsin Khan, were arrested in the case on July 16, 2021, and July 25, 2021, respectively. The investigation revealed that the documents recovered from the possession of co-accused Habibur Rehman were highly sensitive and confidential, which was later verified by the Army Headquarters in Delhi.

During the proceedings, Advocate Mujeeb Khan, appearing for Mohsin Khan, argued that the applicant didn't receive any monetary benefit in connection with the alleged offence.

It was argued that the only purportedly incriminating material against the applicant is the disclosure statement of a co-accused, which, in the absence of independent corroboration, is inadmissible in law. He submitted that the applicant is a scrap dealer by profession and had been falsely implicated in the present case on account of his routine commercial transactions.

Opposing the grant of bail, APP Manoj Pant, appearing for the State, submitted that the applicant had played a critical and active role in the espionage syndicate and had acted as a conduit for funds on behalf of an officer from the Pakistan High Commission.

APP contended that the applicant was an integral part of a tightly knit syndicate engaged in anti-national activities and that material collected, such as CDRs and WhatsApp chats, establishes his role in the commission of the offence

While taking note of the submissions made by both sides, the court observed that when individuals, driven by financial inducement, breach trust by acting as conduits for foreign agencies, it amounts not only to grave criminality but also to a betrayal of the nation.

Highlighting that the ramifications of such offences are far-reaching, the court noted that these offences endanger the lives of countless individuals, compromise military preparedness, and threaten the sovereignty of the State.

Court opined that the offence in question involves the security of the entire nation and its citizens, as the accused was part of a syndicate working against the security of the country.

Based on the above findings, the Court refused to grant bail to the applicant.

Case Title: Mohsin Khan v. State (Govt. of NCT of Delhi)