The Supreme Court on Friday sought a response from the Central Bureau of Investigation on a plea filed by former Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) officer Major General V.K. Singh (retd), challenging a Delhi High Court order that allowed only inspection, and not supply of copies, of documents relied upon by the probe agency in a case against him under the Official Secrets Act.
A bench of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi said it would examine the issue after receiving the CBI’s reply and posted the matter for hearing after four weeks.
Singh has questioned the September 19 order of the Delhi High Court which modified a trial court direction and permitted inspection of the documents by him and his counsel, citing their sensitive nature, instead of supplying certified copies.
The case against Singh dates back to 2007, when the CBI registered an FIR on September 20, alleging that he had revealed secret information through the publication of his book India’s External Intelligence – Secrets of Research and Analysis Wing. The agency claimed the disclosures amounted to offences under the Official Secrets Act, 1923.
Search warrants were issued the same day, and a compliance report was filed before the court on September 24, 2007. Subsequently, on April 7, 2008, the Centre authorised prosecution under Section 13(3) of the Official Secrets Act. A chargesheet was filed on April 11, 2008 under Sections 3 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, along with Sections 409 (criminal breach of trust) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC, with a request that classified documents be kept in sealed cover.
The trial court took cognisance of the charges on January 31, 2009.
On December 12, 2009, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate allowed Singh’s application under Section 207 of the CrPC and directed the CBI to supply the documents relied upon by the prosecution, after moving an application for desealing. However, considering the sensitive nature of the material, the court clarified that the documents would remain in the personal custody of Singh’s counsel and would not be circulated.
This direction was later modified by the Delhi High Court, which noted that while the CBI was not opposed to inspection of the documents, it objected to supplying hard copies. Accepting this submission, the High Court permitted only inspection of the documents lying with the trial court to enable Singh to effectively defend himself during trial.
Aggrieved by this restriction, Singh approached the Supreme Court, contending that denial of copies of documents relied upon by the prosecution violated his right to a fair trial.
Earlier, on May 31, 2023, the Delhi High Court had refused to quash the CBI case against him, observing that whether the disclosures in the book affected the sovereignty, integrity and security of the country was a matter to be decided during trial, and that courts could not pre-judge what prejudices national security.
Singh, a former joint secretary in India’s external intelligence agency, has consistently maintained that his book was written to highlight lack of accountability and alleged corruption within R&AW. He has argued that allegations of revealing secrets harmful to national security are baseless.
Singh retired from service in June 2002. His book was published in June 2007, and the FIR was registered the following year.
