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1. What was the case?
Mumbai Mirror reporter Akela and photographer Raju Shinde were booked under the OSA after they ran an expose on the state of the firearms that were kept in the CST armory in June, 2010. The report revealed that the arms were rotting in a damp room that had rain water leakage. Akela was put into a GRP lockup and Shinde was also harassed of several occasions. After over 2 years of court battles the case was finally dismissed as the report was in public interest.
2. Why were, the defendants booked under the Official secrets act {1923}?
The OSA essentially states that any communication that exposes vital information or an “official secret” that can adversely affect the sovereignty, security and relations of India are punishable by law. The accused in question had revealed the poor state of firearms meant for security of the public. The expose had brought out the vulnerability of the security forces and showed that an attack like 26/11 could be repeated with ease. The information was of course, not limited to people with no ill intentions and any person/organization that wanted to attack or cause harm knew that city’s defenses were in shambles. A Right to Information (RTI) query filed by “The Hindu” in June 2011 also revealed that the Railway Protection Force (RPF) armory at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus was not a prohibited area and there were no signboards there to that effect. The revelation of the fact that Mumbai was still unprepared against an enemy threat was seen as reason to book them under the Official Secrets Act.
3. Why was the case dismissed?
Advocate General Darius Khambata admitted that the case was unfortunate as the intention of the report was misinterpreted. The information was in fact made public. The reporters had not investigated the matter and did not reveal the information only to any threat. The expose also mounted pressure on the establishment to get its act together and improve the situation in order to ensure proper security hence the report actually had a positive impact.
4. Recent Developments
The most recent development in the case is the very fact that the charges were waived and the case was dismissed in the high court. The two defendants were cleared of all charges as their activities were well within their rights and the law.
Mumbai Mirror reporter Akela and photographer Raju Shinde were booked under the OSA after they ran an expose on the state of the firearms that were kept in the CST armory in June, 2010. The report revealed that the arms were rotting in a damp room that had rain water leakage. Akela was put into a GRP lockup and Shinde was also harassed of several occasions. After over 2 years of court battles the case was finally dismissed as the report was in public interest.
2. Why were, the defendants booked under the Official secrets act {1923}?
The OSA essentially states that any communication that exposes vital information or an “official secret” that can adversely affect the sovereignty, security and relations of India are punishable by law. The accused in question had revealed the poor state of firearms meant for security of the public. The expose had brought out the vulnerability of the security forces and showed that an attack like 26/11 could be repeated with ease. The information was of course, not limited to people with no ill intentions and any person/organization that wanted to attack or cause harm knew that city’s defenses were in shambles. A Right to Information (RTI) query filed by “The Hindu” in June 2011 also revealed that the Railway Protection Force (RPF) armory at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus was not a prohibited area and there were no signboards there to that effect. The revelation of the fact that Mumbai was still unprepared against an enemy threat was seen as reason to book them under the Official Secrets Act.
3. Why was the case dismissed?
Advocate General Darius Khambata admitted that the case was unfortunate as the intention of the report was misinterpreted. The information was in fact made public. The reporters had not investigated the matter and did not reveal the information only to any threat. The expose also mounted pressure on the establishment to get its act together and improve the situation in order to ensure proper security hence the report actually had a positive impact.
4. Recent Developments
The most recent development in the case is the very fact that the charges were waived and the case was dismissed in the high court. The two defendants were cleared of all charges as their activities were well within their rights and the law.