Suspended diplomat Madhuri Gupta, arrested for allegedly passing information to Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI, was today granted bail
Suspended diplomat Madhuri Gupta, arrested for allegedly passing information to Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI, was today granted bail by a Delhi court on the ground that her alleged offences entail a maximum of 3 year jail term while she has already been in jail for over 20 months.
"Considering the fact that the accused has been charged for the offences punishable under section 3 (1) part II and section 5 of the Official Secrets Act read with section 120-B IPC attracting a maximum punishment of three years and she has already been in custody for more than 20 months, accused Madhuri Gupta is admitted on bail," Additional Sessions Judge Pawan Kumar Jain said.
Gupta was released on bail on a personal bond of Rs 25,000 with a surety of the same amount.
The court also directed her not to leave Delhi without its permission and warned her against trying to contact any witnesses directly or indirectly.
Gupta, 55, was arrested on April 22, 2010 by the Special Cell of Delhi Police.
While pleading for bail, her counsel Joginder Dhaiya submitted that Gupta has already spent over 21 months in jail since her arrest in April, 2010 and charges against her attract a maximum punishment of three years.
He also submitted that being a woman, Gupta is even otherwise entitled to bail under section 437 CrPC which provides for leniency to women in grant of bail.
Gupta's plea for bail, however, was vehemently opposed by Public Prosecutor Rajiv Mohan, who argued that the matter pertains to Official Secrets Act and the accused was posted as second secretary in Indian High Commission in Pakistan and leaked secret information to her handlers in Pakistan.
The court had on January 7 charged Gupta under Section 3 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act for allegedly supplying information to an ISI agent during her Islamabad posting.
She was also charged with criminal conspiracy under IPC.
Under Section 3 of the Act, passing information relating to defence carries a maximum jail term of 14 years while leaking information, not related to defence, carries a lighter jail term of three years and Gupta has been charged with the latter offence. Her trial is to begin from March 22.
It was alleged that during her posting in Pakistan Gupta was in touch with two ISI officials, Mubshar Raza Rana and Jamshed.
According to the charge sheet filed in July 2010, she was involved in a relationship with Jamshed whom she planned to marry and communicated with him using a code name 'Jim'.
The diplomat was using a computer installed at her residence in Islamabad and a Blackberry phone to be in touch with the Pakistani spies, it said.
Gupta, however, refuted all the allegations against her and submitted that the said information is not sensitive and the alleged act of passing on information relating to the country's internal security to the ISI "cannot be read as those related to the work of defence" under Section 3 of the Act.
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