Orissa High Court grants bail to key accused in DRDO Chandipur espionage case after nearly 4 years in jail

The Orissa High Court has released on bail Basanta Kumar Behera, one of the key accused in the high-profile Chandipur spy case, involving the leakage of sensitive defence data of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) of DRDO in Balasore district.

The bail order was ordered by Justice Gourishankar Satapathy, who stated that Behera had remained in jail for long enough without a trial and had also not abused the interim bail provided to him in the past. Nevertheless, Behera remains in Balasore jail as he hasn’t yet complied with the bail conditions.

He was booked under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 121 (abetting the waging of war against the Government of India), 121-A (conspiracy for offence under 121) and 34 (acts done with common intention) of the Indian Penal Code, read with Sections 3 (penalty for spying), 4 (communications with foreign agents to be evidence of commission of certain offences) and 5 (wrongful communication, use, retention, or failure to protect official information) of the Official Secrets Act.

Behera approached the High Court for regular bail last year. His counsel argued that the investigating officer had failed to present any conclusive evidence directly linking him with the alleged leak of defence secrets. 

As per the court order, Behera was ordered to furnish a bail bond of Rs 5 lakh with two solvent sureties and compliance with several conditions, including fortnightly attendance at the local police station for six months and a ban on leaving the trial court’s jurisdiction without permission.

Behera, who worked as a contractual AC operator at ITR, was arrested in September 2021. He was among several people accused of spying for a Pakistani handler after allegedly falling victim to a honey-trap. The case was first investigated by the Odisha Police and later handed over to the State Crime Branch. It is currently being heard in the 3rd Additional Sessions Court in Balasore.

The judge noted that while the charges are serious, the trial hasn’t moved forward, and other co-accused like Sachin Kumar Chhata and Tapas Ranjan Nayak have already been granted bail. He said that under Article 21 of the Constitution, a person cannot be kept in jail endlessly just because the case is serious.

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