Supreme Court Denies Bail To YouTuber Jyoti Rani Accused Of Spying For Pakistan
The Supreme Court on Friday (June 5) dismissed a petition filed by YouTuber Jyoti Rani @ Jyoti Malhotra accused of espionage and sharing sensitive information with operatives linked to Pakistan intelligence agencies.
A bench comprising Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma refused to interfere with the March 7 order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which refused to grant her bail.
The vlogger, who ran a YouTube channel “Travel-with-Jo", was arrested on May 16, 2025, following 'Operation Sindoor'. She is named as an accused in the FIR registered by Hisar police for offences punishable under Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, and Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
It was alleged that she had travelled to Pakistan with the assistance of officials from the Pakistan High Commission at Delhi, and during her visit to the country, she met officials of Pakistan's security and intelligence agencies. The State further alleged that after returning to India, the petitioner remained in touch with these individuals through platforms such as WhatsApp, Snapchat and Telegram and passed on sensitive information to them.
The High Court, observing that the allegations are of a serious nature, had denied her bail, noting that there was prima facie evidence of the petitioner indulging in anti-national activities and passing on sensitive information to the neighbouring country.
Case : Jyoti Rani alias Jyoti Malhotra v. State of Haryana | SLP(Crl) 10853/2026