Indian Army Sepoy Got Bail accused of Sharing Confidential Information with Pakistani Smugglers – P&H HC

P&H HC while allowed bail of the accused (Malkit Singh @ Fauji Vs State 8 Feb 2023) observed that accused was in custody for 3 years and 9 months and some of accused were already on bail.

After serving over three years in judicial custody, a Sepoy in the Indian Army, Malkit Singh, has been granted regular bail by the court. Singh was accused of sharing confidential information with Pakistani smugglers and secret agencies through WhatsApp and email, leading to his arrest on 09.05.2019. The FIR was registered under various sections of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, IPC, and NDPS Act, 1985, and various documents and mobile phones were recovered from Singh during the investigation.

The defense counsel argued that the charges against Singh could be under Section 3 or Section 5 of the Official Secrets Act, with the maximum punishment under Section 5 being 3 years of sentence. The counsel further argued that the trial has been delayed and the punishment, if convicted, would be minimal, making the grant of bail a just and reasonable decision.

The reply filed by the police stated that Singh had admitted in his disclosure statement to providing secret information of the Army to Pakistani smugglers. However, the learned counsel for the petitioner argued that the co-accused Harpreet Singh, Gurlal Singh, Princedeep, and Gajjan Singh have already been granted regular bail by the court.

Taking into consideration the fact that the petitioner has been in judicial custody for over 3 years and 9 months, and some of the co-accused have already been granted regular bail, the court allowed Singh to be released on regular bail. The trial court has yet to take cognizance of the formal complaint under the Official Secrets Act that was filed.

Malkit Singh @ Fauji  Vs State of Punjab