Two Britishers, accused of illegally recording conversations between pilots and Air Traffic Control, were on Friday freed by a Delhi court, which accepted their admission of guilt and imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on each.
"I can be convicted and sentenced for the offence under Section 20 (establishing electronic equipment without permission) of the Indian Telegraph Act," Steven Martin Ayris, 55 and Stephen Hampston, 46, told Metropolitan Magistrate S P S Laler.
Seeking lenient punishment, the accused, hailing from Bristol in the United Kingdom, claimed ignorance about the penal consequences of their plane-spotting hobby in New Delhi while admitting their guilt.
The court first examined the Britons in in-camera proceedings to ascertain the voluntariness of the confessions.
"After making an inquiry from the accused regarding their understanding about the nature of offence, the allegations against them and the consequences arising out of said proceedings, the court is satisfied that the present application falls within the purview of the provision of the CrPC (dealing with plea bargaining)," the magistrate said in his order.
The Britons, who are employed with Railways in UK, were confined to Radisson Hotel near the international airport in New Delhi on February 15
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