New Delhi, Dec 10 - A city court Monday adjourned till Jan 4 the hearing on the anticipatory bail plea of former Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) officer Major General (retd) V.K. Singh, who is facing the charge of leaking official secrets in a book published this year.Motor Accident Claim Tribunal Judge Pratibha Rani, who took up the matter in the absence of Additional District Judge P.K. Saxena, adjourned the hearing.Singh, a former RAW joint secretary, was booked under Section 5 (wrongful communication of information) of the Official Secrets Act for writing 'India's External Intelligence: Secrets of RAW'.In the bail petition, Singh's counsel Anup Khullar said there was personal anonymity behind the case against his client.'A person who is a whistle blower, highlighting corruption in the highest office, cannot be booked for disclosing the official information,' Khullar told IANS.On an earlier hearing, counsel for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the investigative agency in the case, argued that parts of the book were related to files that were marked secret.The court, however, told the CBI that without having any idea of what was being referred to, it could not come to a conclusion.The CBI then said it could present those documents in the court, provided those not connected with the case are not allowed inside.The CBI, in a previous hearing Nov 5, had filed an application in the court of Additional Sessions Judge K.S. Mohi seeking permission to hold an in camera trial.On Dec 4, the court told the CBI that no decision could be taken on its demand to hold an in camera trial unless the agency proved that the documents related to the case were of very sensitive nature.Singh's counsel, however, claimed that the CBI was keen on getting an in camera trial because of 'critical' reports in some newspapers and on TV news channels.Citing the reports, Khullar said the former RAW official was being targeted as he had mentioned in his book an incident involving an officer.
(c) Indo-Asian News Service
