Confidential document theft: Gujarat High Court grants anticipatory bail to Mahesh Langa

The Gujarat High Court on Friday granted anticipatory bail to the Hindu journalist Mahesh Langa in a case filed against him for allegedly stealing highly sensitive and confidential documents belonging to the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB)..The order was passed by single-judge Justice Hasmukh D Suthar. "Prima facie it appears that present applicant is not a government servant. In aid of Section 8 and 12 PC Act he is arraigned as an accused as he has abetted an offence. Applicant has been arrested in another offence under GST allegations...there is no bar to entertain anticipatory bail of accused in judicial custody," the Court said..Earlier this month, Justice Divyesh A Joshi had dismissed Langa's plea seeking quashing of the present case after observing that a prima facie case was made out against him."...in the instant case, from the material collected by the investigating officer during the course of investigation, prima facie involvement of the petitioner in commission of crime is made out. Moreover, the investigation is at a nascent stage and it would not be proper on the part of this Court to exercise its inherent powers in favour of the petitioner at this stage. In view of the aforesaid discussion, the petition being devoid of merits, stands dismissed. Notice discharged," Justice Joshi had observed..The case involves allegations of leaked sensitive documents from the GMB. The prosecution claimed that confidential documents were seized from Langa, a journalist with The Hindu, leading to the present first information report (FIR).Langa was booked for criminal breach of trust, theft by the clerk, and other offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, as well as offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act.Upon reviewing the records, Justice Suthar today said that it appeared that Langa acquired information from GMB by earning the trust of an employee and subsequently receiving details regarding the extension of contracts for three ports. After receiving an envelope containing these documents, he later provided a 'gift' to the employee, it added.However, as per the statements recorded during the investigation, while the envelope was indeed handed over, there is no clear evidence that it contained the specified documents and that it was merely a copy, the Court noted.If a GMB employee disclosed or shared such confidential office information with a third party, it would constitute a violation of civil service conduct rules for which they would be held accountable, the Court further added..The Court stated that it is not examining whether an offence was made out, as a coordinate bench had already refused to quash the FIR. However, it clarified that merely possessing a copy of the information does not constitute the alleged offence."Prima facie, it appears that the present applicant has not caused any wrongful loss to the government...Considering the aforesaid facts, prima facie, no material suggests that the larger public interest is being jeopardized by the present applicant..."In the absence of any evidence of criminal misconduct, illegal gratification, or any such recovery or demand for illegal gratification, the question of rejecting the present application does not arise, the Court said while allowing the plea.