The Supreme Court has termed a former Indian Air Force officer facing trial under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) “dangerous for the country” and denied him bail.
A bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde and comprising Justices A.S. Bopanna and V. Ramasubramanian declined to entertain a plea filed by Ranjith K.K. against a Delhi High Court order.
Ranjith is facing trial for allegedly sharing sensitive information with suspects considered a front for Pakistan’s intelligence service.
The bench said, “You are a danger to the entire nation. You remain where you are.”
Ranjith’s lawyer contended before the bench that his client has not seen his mother in Kerala for five years, as he has been in jail under the OSA. To which the bench replied, “You should have thought about all this before you did it.”
The top court said: “The special leave petition is dismissed. Pending application(s), if any, shall also stand disposed of.”
Ranjith had earlier urged the high court to grant him bail, saying he was a young man at the time of his arrest and the only charge framed against him was under a section, which has maximum punishment for 14 years.
He had joined the IAF as a leading aircraftman.
In its order, the high court had noted that according to the FIR and the order by which the charge was framed against him, the petitioner is accused of having passed on sensitive data to persons who were intending to threaten the sovereignty and integrity of the country.
The police had alleged that he was honey-trapped and afterward shared sensitive information with Pakistan’s secret service.
While denying bail, the high court also took into account that various documents have been recovered, which included WhatsApp chat history, map of the Air Force base, etc.
