ISRO employee facing cyber terrorism charges denied bail
Trivedi had submitted before the court that the accused, serving in ISRO, despite knowing the seriousness of national security, “sent email address of office computer to an unknown person and tried to open email (received from unauthorised person) in his office computer...without permission of the authority...”
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While rejecting the bail plea, the court observed that considering the facts and circumstances of the case, “prima-facie it appears that there is serious allegation against the... accused of national security.”
An Ahmedabad court on January 30 rejected the bail plea of an employee of ISRO’s Space Application Centre (SAC), who is facing charges of cyber terrorism for allegedly being in contact with “unknown women” in Pakistan through social media using the computer allotted for office work.
While refusing to grant bail to the accused, Ahmedabad rural principal district and sessions judge DM Vyas recorded that considering the fact that the accused “was in contact with Pakistani woman through social media, who sent confidential email,” the serious nature of the offence, and the fact that investigation is going on, “judicial discretion is not required to be exercised in favour of the accused.”
Currently in judicial custody, the accused employee, who is a technical officer at ISRO SAC and an Ahmedabad resident, has been charged for the offence punishable for cyber terrorism under section 66 F(1)(B) of the Information Technology Act, in the FIR lodged by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad on January 7.
Opposing the accused’s bail plea, public prosecutor Pravin Trivedi had argued that the “accused during July or August 2022 to 3/1/2023 shared email address with unauthorised unknown women and opened it on the computer given/allotted for office work of ISRO, knowing well that if such unverified filed sent by unauthorised person is opened on the said computer, it would compromise with the data related to the security of the country and thereby committed the alleged offence.”
Trivedi had further submitted before the court that the accused, serving in ISRO, despite knowing the seriousness of national security, “sent email address of office computer to an unknown person and tried to open email (received from unauthorised person) in his office computer…without permission of the authority…”
Meanwhile, the accused had submitted before the court that “the office of ISRO is well equipped to ascertain any activities against the rules and regulations,” and that “the authority of ISRO has not filed any complaint” against the accused.
The accused also submitted in court that he is a permanent resident of Ahmedabad and is thus not likely to abscond.
Additionally, the accused argued that his whole service tenure has been “blotless” and has always given “first priority to his duty and then to his family.”
While rejecting the bail plea, the court observed that considering the facts and circumstances of the case, “prima-facie it appears that there is serious allegation against the… accused of national security.”
Officials of the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad refused to comment on the case.
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