High Court's Verdict Challenges CBI in Official Secrets Act Case

The Supreme Court has asked the CBI to respond to a plea by Major General V K Singh (retired), who seeks access to documents used against him in a trial under the Official Secrets Act. He is accused of revealing secret information in his book about the R&AW.

The Supreme Court has directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to respond to a petition filed by retired Major General V K Singh, who is seeking access to documents crucial to his trial under the Official Secrets Act. Singh, a former Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) official, has been accused of disclosing classified information through a publication.

The legal proceedings were set into motion as Singh's counsel, Advocate Prashant Bhushan, argued before a bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi. The high court had earlier modified a trial court's order, permitting only inspection of the said documents rather than providing physical copies, due to their sensitive nature.

Singh, whose controversial book allegedly breaches national security, contends that his work aimed to expose corruption within R&AW. Despite Singh's claims of highlighting accountability issues, the high court refused to quash the CBI case, positing that the impact on national security requires scrutiny during trial.

(With inputs from agencies.)