'Nation Rests Peacefully Because Armed Forces Remain Vigilant': Delhi High Court Denies Bail In Espionage Case

The Delhi High Court has denied bail to a man accused in an espionage case, observing that the nation rests peacefully because the armed forces remain vigilant. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma denied bail to Mohsin Khan, accused of transmitting sensitive information pertaining to the Indian Army to Pakistan High Commission.It was alleged that he was operating as a covert financial conduit, facilitating the discrete movement of funds with the intent to conceal their origin and to aid transmission of sensitive information to officials of Pakistan High Commission. “Considering that the offence in question involves the security of the entire nation and Indians, and the applicant herein was part of a syndicate, who were working against the security of the country, this Court does not find it a fit case to grant bail to the present applicant,” the Court said.It added that in cases involving alleged acts of espionage and transmission of sensitive information to foreign agencies, the threshold for grant of bail isnecessarily higher and the Court must be guided by the larger interest of justice and national security, rather than merely the passage of time in custody. It was argued by the prosecution that the evidence prima facie corroborated Khan's central involvement in facilitating financial transactions integral to the broader conspiracy of transmitting sensitive information pertaining to the Indian Army to Pakistan High Commission.The Court said that the offence was not merely against a particular individual, institution, or group, but was an offence against the integrity, sovereignty, and security of “Bharat.”It added that such acts, where sensitive and classified information concerning the Indian Armed Forces is allegedly transmitted to foreign handlers, strike at the heart of national security and cannot be treated with leniency.“These are not conventional crimes – they are crimes that compromise the trust reposed in individuals who are either part of or have access to our military establishments,” the Court said. “It must be remembered that the nation rests peacefully because its armed forces remain vigilant. It is in their unconditional duty and commitment that the citizenry finds assurance of safety and continuity of the constitutional order,” it added. Justice Sharma concluded that when individuals, driven by financial inducement or otherwise, seek to breach this trust by serving as conduits to foreign agencies, it amounts to an act not only of grave criminality but of betrayal to the nation.“The ramifications of such offences are far-reaching – they endanger the lives of countless individuals, compromise military preparedness, and threaten the sovereignty of the State, therefore, do not pass the test of conditions for grant of bail and by no stretch of imagination, though argued by the learned counsel for the applicant be termed as not grave, not being murder or dacoity,” the Court said. It added that in such case, the judicial response cannot be guided solely by the passage of time in custody or procedural delays, but must be driven by the larger concern of national interest.Title: MOHSIN KHAN v. THE STATE GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHICitation: 2025 LiveLaw (Del) 601Click here to read order

'Nation Rests Peacefully Because Armed Forces Remain Vigilant': Delhi High Court Denies Bail In Espionage Case

Nupur Thapliyal

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