HC strikes down spying case against Solapur man, asks state to pay him ₹25,000

The Bombay high court has dropped spying charges against a resident of Akluj in Solapur district, who was booked under the Official Secrets Act 1923 for taking a photo of some people waiting outside the police station

The Bombay high court has dropped spying charges against a resident of Akluj in Solapur district, who was booked under the Official Secrets Act 1923 for taking a photo of some people waiting outside the police station.

HC strikes down spying case against Solapur man, asks state to pay him ₹25,000

It also asked the state government to pay ₹25,000 to Rohan Kale, with a further direction to recover the amount from the salary of the police officer responsible for registering a case under section 3 of the Act against him.

Invocation of section 3, which provides punishment for spying, could have drastic consequences on the person, a division bench of justice Revati Mohite-Dere and justice Prithviraj Chavan recently said.

“It could impact one’s reputation, job, career and so on. It cannot be lightly invoked to jeopardise someone’s life and career. Law cannot be misused/abused and must not be used as a tool for harassing or tormenting people,” the HC said.

On July 27 last year, the Akluj police had called Kale for questioning in connection with a case. After he stepped out of the station, he saw some known people and clicked their pictures. Policeman Somnath Koli, who noticed this, examined Kale’s mobile phone and found a photograph of the people waiting outside with the police station in the background.

Kale was booked, and the Akluj police even filed a chargesheet against him.

Last month, Kale moved the high court, questioning his prosecution for spying. His lawyers - Prasad Avhad and Chetan Nagare - argued that even if the prosecution case was taken as it was, no offence of spying as contemplated under section 3 of the Official Secrets Act was made out against him.

The judges accepted their contention and said they were “shocked and appalled” to see that a man was being prosecuted for spying for merely taking a photograph of the police station, especially when police stations were not designated as “prohibited areas” under the Act.

“Registration of the offence under section 3 of the Official Secrets Act against the petitioner in the facts is clearly an abuse of the process of law and if not quashed, would lead to serious miscarriage of justice, which cannot be countenanced,” the bench said.

It further said the section provides punishment for acts prejudicial to the safety or interests of the state, acts done affecting the sovereignty and integrity of India etc. and “by no stretch of imagination, section 3 could have been invoked in the facts of the present case”.