JUDGMENT

VENKATARAMIAH, J.:— Four persons - Maj. General (Retd.). F. D. Larkins. Air Vice Marshal (Retd.), K. H. Larkins. Lt. Col. (Retd.), Jasbir Singh and Jaspal Singh Gill alias Jassi Gill, the respondent herein were accused of having committed offences punishable under Sections 3, 5 and 9 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923 read with S. 120-B of the Indian Penal Code and of them F. D. Larkins and Jasbir Singh were also accused of having committed the offence punishable under Section 6 of the Official Secrets Act; 1923 in a complaint, filed by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Special Branch, Delhi with the authorisation of the Government of India before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Patiala House, New Delhi.

2. The prosecution case appears to rest inter alia on the following facts : On March 24, 1983, Group Captain Jasjit Singh informed the Air Vice Marshal (now Air Marshal) Shri S. Raghavendran that for some days immediately prior to that date AVM (Retd.) K. H. Larkins then resident of Azad Apartments, Mebrauli Road. New Delhi, under whom he had served earlier, was inducing him to pass on secret manuals of aircrafts used by the Indian Air-Force for a consideratio