New Delhi: The Supreme Court has cited a former Indian Air Force officer confronting trial under the Official Secrets Act as “dangerous for the country” and denied him bail. A bench led by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde declined to consider an appeal filed by Ranjith K.K. against a Delhi High Court order. Ranjith is facing trial for sharing sensitive information with suspects assumed 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 encountered 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. The pending applications also stand disposed of.”
Ranjith had earlier insisted the high court grant him bail, saying he was a young man at the time of his arrest and the only charge bounded 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 cited that according to the FIR and the order by which the charge was prepared against him, the petitioner is incriminated of having passed on sensitive data to persons who were intending to threaten the sovereignty and integrity of the country.
The police stated that he was honey-trapped and later shared sensitive information with Pakistan’s secret service. While rejecting the bail, the high court also took into account that various documents have been retrieved, which included WhatsApp chat history, map of the Air Force base, etc.
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