Pune: A bail application filed by former DRDO director Pradeep Kurulkar in connection with an espionage case was rejected by a special court in Pune on Thursday.
Kurulkar had filed a bail application in the special court through his lawyer, Rishikesh Ganu.
Ganu argued in court that the entire case of the prosecution is based on mobile and technology, and therefore, the accused could not have tampered with the evidence.
After presenting his arguments, Ganu urged the court to grant bail to his client.
However, opposing the bail application, Special Public Prosecutor, Vijay Fargade argued, "There is a prima facie case against the accused and the offence against him is serious in nature. The accused was a senior official and, hence, he can put pressure on the witness and there is the possibility of him tampering with the evidence. Considering all these reasons, it won't be proper to grant bail to the accused." After hearing arguments from both sides on the bail application, District and Sessions Court Judge VR Kachare rejected the plea.
"There is a prima facie case against the accused; the offence is serious in nature and some data from the mobile of the accused is yet to be recovered. Therefore, considering the rulings of the apex court that when there is a prima facie case, it will not be justified to release the accused on bail, therefore the bail application stands rejected," the court ruled.
Speaking to reporters after the ruling, Ganu said that after obtaining the certified copy of the bail order, he would move Bombay High Court for bail.
Kurulkar was arrested by the ATS in May this year for allegedly passing sensitive information over WhatsApp to a Pakistani operative, who identified herself as 'Zara Dasgupta'.
