Delhi High Court allows CBI to record testimony of US witness via VC in Official Secrets Act case

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday allowed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to record the testimony of American businessman C Edmonds Allen through video conference from the Indian Consulate in New York in an Official Secrets Act (OSA) case concerning arms dealer Abhishek Verma [Central Bureau of Investigation v Sh Abhishek Verma & Ors]..Verma was booked in 2012 over allegations that he possessed classified documents from the Ministry of Defence, including the Air Force’s acquisition plans and minutes of meetings of the Defence Acquisition Council. The probe began after Allen (Verma’s former attorney in the US) wrote to the then Defence Minister attaching sensitive documents he claimed to have received from Verma.The trial court had rejected CBI’s plea to examine Allen via video link, reasoning that sharing classified documents with a witness in the US could violate secrecy provisions and risk unauthorised disclosure. It also cited procedural rules requiring the accused’s consent for remote testimony. .Justice Sanjeev Narula overruled this decision after noting that the OSA does not prohibit trials or evidence being recorded electronically provided adequate safeguards are in place. “While the apprehension recorded by the Trial Court, that the use of video conferencing may occasion leakage of classified material, cannot be dismissed as fanciful, yet the answer in law is not prohibition but regulation in a just and equitable manner through adequate safeguards. OSA does not interdict the conduct of trials; it prescribes the manner in which sensitive proceedings are to be held. Section 14 of OSA, read with Section 327 of CrPC, authorises the Court to insulate the process from public gaze and to impose conditions that preserve secrecy. The proper judicial response is therefore to manage risk, while preserving the integrity of the proceeding,” the Court said. .It further noted that Allen is 79 years of age, has cardiac and orthopaedic ailments and reportedly faces threats, making travel to India unsafe. The Court acknowledged these “compelling equities” and said video testimony from the Consulate strikes the right balance between protecting national security and ensuring fair trial.Justice Narula invoked the High Court’s special powers under Rule 18 of the Delhi High Court Video Conferencing Rules, 2020, waiving the accused’s consent requirement. However, the Court added that the VC must be done in camera, using a secure, encrypted connection and that classified documents must remain at the court. .Senior Advocate Maninder Singh along with advocates Dinhar Takiar, Sanjana Nair, Anurupita Kaur, Mudit Maruah and Karan Tomar appeared for Abhishek Verma. Advocates Sarim Naved and Zeeshan Ahmad appeared for a respondent. Advocates Harshvardhan Jha and Aman Pathak represented C Edmons Allen. .[Read Judgment]