Samba spy row: Army captains’ appeal dismissed

Delhi HC rejects petitions filed by two captains of Indian Army who have served 14 years' imprisonment in the 1975 Samba espionage case, to declare the court martial proceedings against them as void.

The Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed petitions filed by two captains of the Indian Army, Ranbir Singh Rathaur and Ashok Kumar Rana, who have served 14 years' imprisonment in the 1975 Samba espionage case, to declare the court martial proceedings against them as void.

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The two, accused of spying for Pakistan, had moved the court to get the 'blot cleared' so that they could get consequential benefits.

Last year, the Supreme Court had set aside the High Court's 2000 order quashing the Court Martial and directing Army to give the petitioners consequential benefits. The SC had also given liberty to the captains to approach HC to re-hear their petition when they submitted that they had fresh evidence in their defence. Rathaur and Rana had relied on articles written by former head of Intelligence Bureau T V Raejshwar and his former deputy director, V K Kaul about the innocence of officials accused of episonage.

On Thursday, a bench headed by Justice Vikramjit Sen dismissed the petition stating at this stage the petition was not maintainable.