Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir): In a significant legal development, the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has granted interim bail to newspaper owner, Tarun Bahl, who was arrested on charges of circulating “secret” information on WhatsApp about the withdrawal of security cover to certain persons in Jammu and Kashmir. Behl has been booked under the Official Secrets Act besides the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Justice Rahul Bharti granted interim bail to Bahl on the condition that he will not leave Jammu and Kashmir without the permission of the investigating agencies and not give any interview in the press or publish content related to the criminal case against him.
"Now, just for the sake of serving the satisfaction of the investigating authority that the petitioner shall continue to suffer jail but without any definite investigative purpose that too related to the petitioner is nothing but condemning an accused as a convict from the very inception of investigation. A good police investigation is supposed to chase the evidence gathering related to a case under investigation and not to chain an accused/suspect (sic),” Justice Bharti said in the order dated July 22 order stated.
The plea related to the regular bail to Bahl will be heard next on August 9. The High Court also observed that a person who is only accused or suspected of a crime cannot be condemned right from the start of the investigation.
Bahl was arrested on July 10, from his residence in the upscale Channi Himmat area of Jammu city for reportedly circulating the list of some 57 protected persons, including some journalists, politicians and retired police officers among others whose security cover was recently withdrawn by J&K administration.
Police had said that the secret document had circulated in the WhatsApp groups ‘The Sree Times’ and ‘The Daily Aasman’ run by Behl and he was arrested by Jammu city police in a case (FIR No 80/2024) filed at Channi Himmat police station under section 3 (circulating information useful to an enemy or likely to affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the state or friendly relations with foreign states) and section 5 (wrong communication of secret information) of the Official Secrets Act.
The case also includes sections 49 (punishment of abetment) and 353 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita which was invoked against him.
