Man gets bail in leaking Sukna Army camp, Bagdogra Airport details case

Jalpaiguri: Guddu Kumar, accused under the Official Secrecy Act for allegedly taking pictures of the Sukna Army camp and Bagdogra Airport and leaking them, has finally been granted bail after spending almost 510 days in jail since his arrest. His lawyer, Saikat Chaterjee, confirmed that the division bench of Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench of Calcutta High Court, comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Alok Kumar Gupta, granted him bail.

Guddu Kumar was arrested by the state government’s Special Task Force from a rented house in Siliguri on December 21, 2022, on charges of transferring photos of the Sukna Army Cantonment and Bagdogra Airport to foreign poweRs

Chaterjee stated: “The task force filed a case against Guddu Kumar under various sections of the Official Secrecy Act. However, to file a case under such laws, approval from both the central and state governments is required, which was not obtained in this case. Moreover, the investigation found no evidence of any foreign money transactions related to the photos. Since such a trial cannot proceed without the necessary approvals and as per the Indian Constitution, no one can be arbitrarily detained. These arguments were presented before the division bench judges, leading to the grant of bail. However, the court ordered Guddu Kumar to refrain from entering Siliguri, Naxalbari, and Bagdogra areas.”

Meanwhile, the court’s Assistant Public Prosecutor, Bishwarup Roy, mentioned that the task force failed to submit the required central and state approvals, leading to the grant of bail for the accused.