Court orders in-camera trial for ex-RAW official

A Delhi court on Friday ordered in-camera hearing on the anticipatory bail application of former Research and Analysis Wing official V K Singh, accused by the CBI of giving out “secret information” in his controversial book. “It would be just and expedient to exercise the discretion vested in Section 14 of the Official Secrets Act and to hear the proceedings in-camera,” Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Rakesh Kapoor said in his five-page order.

The CBI earlier told the court that the proceedings of the case should be conducted in-camera because of the “nature of the sensitivity” of the matter. The information which was incorporated in the book “India’s External Intelligence: Secrets of RAW” was detrimental to the safety and security of the country, it argued.

Opposing the CBI’s claims, Anoop Khullar, counsel for Singh, argued that the agency wanted to gag the press and impose limitations on its right to information. The court should not lean in favour of the state to curtail a citizen’s fundamental right, Khullar urged.

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Earlier, the CBI in its chargesheet against Singh said his allegations on corruption in the country’s external intelligence agency were in “violation” of the OSA. The CBI charged Singh and Vivek Kumar Garg, the publisher of Manas Publication house, under Sections 3 and 5 of the OSA.

This is for the first time a book on RAW has been written by someone who had actually served in the intelligence agency.