Overview
- Additional Sessions Judge Parminder Kaur rejected the regular bail plea in an October 23 order released this week.
- Malhotra, 33, was arrested in May under the Official Secrets Act and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita provisions and remains in judicial custody.
- The court said a prima facie case of considerable gravity exists and that release could impede the probe or enable tampering with digital evidence.
- The order notes alleged communications with a Pakistani High Commission staffer identified as Danish since November 2023, along with movements in sensitive areas.
- The defence argues the intelligence inputs are untested and that no direct proof of transmission has been produced, which the court said must be examined at trial.