Section 3 Official Secrets Act, 1923

 

Section 3 Official Secrets Act, 1923: 

Penalties for spying.—

(1) If any person for any purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the State—

(a) approaches, inspects, passes over or is in the vicinity of, or enters, any prohibited place; or

(b) makes any sketch, plan, model, or note which is calculated to be or might be or is intended to be, directly or indirectly, useful to an enemy; or

(c) obtains, collects, records or publishes or communicates to any other person any secret official code or password, or any sketch, plan, model, article or note or other document or information which is calculated to be or might be or is intended to be, directly or indirectly, useful to an enemy 9 [or which relates to a matter the disclosure of which is likely to affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State or friendly relations with foreign States], he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend, where the offence is committed in relation to any work of defence, arsenal, naval, military or air force establishment or station, mine, minefield, factory, dockyard, camp, ship or aircraft or otherwise in relation to the naval, military or air force affairs of 10 [Government] or in relation to any secret official code, to fourteen years and in other cases to three years.

(2) On a prosecution for an offence punishable under this section 11 [***] it shall not be necessary to show that the accused person was guilty of any particular act tending to show a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the State, and, notwithstanding that no such act is proved against him, he may be convicted if, from the circumstances of the case or his conduct or his known character as proved, it appears that his purpose was a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the State; and if any sketch, plan, model, article, note, document, or information relating to or used in any prohibited place, or relating to anything in such a place, or any secret official code or password is made, obtained, collected, recorded, published or communicated by any person other than a person acting under lawful authority, and from the circumstances of the case or his conduct or his known character as proved it appears that his purpose was a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the State, such sketch, plan, model, article, note, document, 12 [information, code or password shall be presumed to have been made], obtained, collected, recorded, published or communicated for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the State.

Supreme Court of India Important Judgments And Leading Case Law Related to Section 3 Official Secrets Act, 1923:

The State vs Captain Jagjit Singh on 14 September, 1961

H.M.T. Ltd. Rep. By Its Deputy vs Mudappa & Ors on 8 February, 2007

Har Jas Dev Singh vs State Of Punjab & Ors on 25 July, 1973

State vs Jaspal Singh Gill on 25 June, 1984

The Government Of N.C.T. Of Delhi vs Jaspal Singh on 8 August, 2003

C.B.I.New Delhi vs Abhishek Verma on 6 May, 2009

Safi Mohd vs State Of Rajasthan on 17 April, 2013

Sama Alana Abdulla vs The State Of Gujarat on 16 November, 1

Mohd. Subrati Alias Mohd. Karim vs State Of West Bengal on 14 November, 1972

Sahib Singh Dugal vs Union Of India on 30 July, 1965

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