Thursday, 23 September 2021 | PNS | Nainital
Hearing the case for release of a Pakistani citizen arrested on charges of spying, the Uttarakhand high court maintained the sentence handed out to Lahore resident Abid Ali alias Ajit Singh. Handing out its judgement, the single bench of Justice Ravindra Maithani directed the government to cancel his bail bond and take him in custody, adding that there was adequate proof against Ali and that he had violated the Passport Act.
On January 25, 2010 during the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar, the police had arrested Ali in Roorkee under the Official Secrets Act, Foreigners Act and Passport Act. The police found maps of army installations in Meerut, Dehradun, Roorkee and other locations, one pen drive and various documents pertaining to sensitive information. On raiding his accommodation in Macchi Mohalla, the police had found about a dozen SIM cards concealed behind a switch board and the ceiling fan. Finding him guilty, the lower court had sentenced him to seven years imprisonment in December 2012. His counsel had filed an appeal or his release but did not state correct facts about his address and other details. A court in Haridwar had issued orders for his release but the jail superintendent submitted an application in the court and the office of the senior superintendent of police stating that the person was a foreign citizen and that a personal bond and other formalities had to be fulfilled before his release. The government filed a special appeal against the order of the lower court stating that the same should be cancelled as there was ample evidence of Ali spying.
