SC declines bail in nuclear espionage case

The Supreme Court on Monday declined bail to a security specialist of National Security Council who allegedly passed on the country's vital secrets including those on Indo-US nuclear deal to an American woman diplomat.

The special cell of the Delhi police, which had earlier arrested the accused Mukesh Saini along with system analyast Shib Shankar Paul, alleged the latter had developed "intimate" and "close relationship" with the American diplomat Rosana Minschew to whom the secrets were passed on.

It was further alleged Saini had in return prevailed upon the American diplomat to get him a job in the US Microsoft company after obtaining voluntary retirement from the highly sensitive secretariat of the National Security Council.

According to the special cell of the Delhi Police, which opposed the bail plea of Saini, raids at his house resulted in seizure of several documents including the "draft report of Indian nuclear doctrine" from the computer pen drive.

"The documents are connected with the security matters of the country and if the seized documents are passed onto an unuathorised person or any foreign agent, these can be used for purpose prejudicial to the safety or interest of the state," the government told a bench of Justices D K Jain and T S Thakur, in an affidavit.