New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to grant bail to YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, who is accused of espionage activities and passing sensitive information to Pakistani intelligence operatives.
A Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma declined to grant relief to Malhotra, who has been booked under Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, and Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The apex court’s refusal to grant bail means that Malhotra will continue to remain in custody in connection with the case registered by the Haryana Police.
Malhotra had approached the Supreme Court after the Punjab and Haryana High Court rejected her bail plea in March this year. Dismissing her petition, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had observed that the allegations against her were related to “indulging in anti-national activities and passing on sensitive information to the neighbouring country” and that there was sufficient prima facie evidence collected during the investigation to support the prosecution’s case.
The investigation revealed that Malhotra, who operated a YouTube channel named “Travel with Jo”, came in contact with Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, an official posted at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, during her visits to Pakistan.
Investigators alleged that she subsequently established contact with several Pakistani intelligence operatives through social media platforms and passed on sensitive information relating to strategic locations.
The prosecution claimed that forensic examination of her electronic devices and social media accounts revealed that she was in constant touch with Pakistani operatives through WhatsApp calls and other online platforms. It further alleged that she had shared videos and photographs of locations, including Pandoh Dam, Munnabao Railway Station and a CRPF facility with Pakistani intelligence operatives.
Opposing her bail plea before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Haryana Police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) had argued that Malhotra had received preferential assistance for obtaining a Pakistan visa, maintained secret communications with intelligence operatives, and deleted chat records to conceal her activities.
While seeking bail, Malhotra had argued that she had been falsely implicated, that the investigation was complete, and the chargesheet had already been filed. Her counsel had contended that the case was based primarily on disclosure statements recorded in custody and that no substantive evidence existed apart from her contacts with officials associated with Pakistan.
The case stems from an FIR registered at Civil Lines Police Station in Hisar on May 16, 2025. Malhotra was arrested the same day and has remained in custody since then.
In August last year, Haryana Police’s SIT filed a nearly 2,500-page chargesheet before a Hisar court, claiming that it had gathered “solid evidence” establishing her involvement in espionage activities.
The chargesheet also referred to her alleged links with Pakistani intelligence operatives, including Shakir, Hasan Ali and Nasir Dhillon, and relied on digital forensic analysis of her electronic devices and online communications.
(IANS)
