The Supreme Court has declined to interfere with the default bail granted to journalist Rajeev Sharma, who was arrested under the Official Secrets Act, 1923.

The Delhi Police had challenged the Delhi High Court’s order dated December 4, 2020, which granted him bail, but a bench comprising Justices Bela M Trivedi and Prasanna B Varale dismissed the appeal.

The Court examined whether the phrase “imprisonment for a term not less than 10 years” in clause (i) of the proviso (a) to Section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) would apply to offences where no minimum punishment is prescribed, even if the maximum sentence can extend to 14 years.

Sharma was arrested on September 14, 2020, under Sections 3, 4, and 5 of the Official Secrets Act and Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code. The FIR was filed by the Delhi Police’s Special Cell.

The bench noted that Section 3 of the Act carries a maximum sentence of 14 years but no minimum term, while Section 5 prescribes a maximum of three years. In such cases, where no minimum sentence of 10 years is prescribed, the investigation must be completed within 60 days to deny default bail. As the probe was not completed within this time frame, Sharma became entitled to default bail under Section 167(2)(a) CrPC.

The Court referred to the 2017 three-judge bench ruling in Rakesh Kumar Paul v. State of Assam, which clarified that the phrase “not less than 10 years” implies a mandatory minimum sentence. If no such minimum is provided in the statute, the extended 90-day period for investigation does not apply. This position was later affirmed in M. Ravindran v. Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (2020).

“In our opinion, the present case is squarely covered by the majority decision in Rakesh Kumar Paul,” the Court observed, affirming that the High Court had rightly relied on established precedent in granting bail.

Noting that the appeal had been pending for four years and the bail had continued throughout, the Court said, “We do not find any merit in this Appeal.” It directed the trial court to expedite proceedings and frame charges in accordance with law.

Case Title: State (NCT of Delhi) v. Rajeev Sharma