The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court has recently held that recording conversations inside a police station does not violate the provisions of the Official Secrets Act.

As a result, the Court quashed the spying charges against two brothers from Pathardi, Maharashtra, though it refused to dismiss the charges of criminal conspiracy against them under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

A Bench of Justice Vibha Kankanwadi and Justice S.G. Chapalgaonkar observed that the key facts from the First Information Report (FIR) and witness statements revealed that the entire incident took place within a police station.

The police had invoked the provisions of the Official Secrets Act, 1923.

"Section 2 (8) of the said Act defines what is “prohibited place”. Police Station is not included in the said definition. Section 3 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923 deals with “Penalties for spying”....Anything done in the police is absolutely not included in Section 3. Under such circumstance, ingredients of the said section are not at all attracted" the Court ruled, indicating that the charges under the Official Secrets Act were unfounded.

The FIR was registered on July 19, 2022, accusing Subhash and Santosh Rambhau Athare of criminal conspiracy (Section 120B) and intimidation (Section 506) under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), as well as violations of the Official Secrets Act.

The case arose from an incident where Subhash recorded a conversation with a police officer.

The dispute followed an unfortunate event on April 21, 2022, when three individuals allegedly trespassed into the Athare family home and assaulted their mother. Dissatisfied with the police’s handling of the complaint—classified as a non-cognizable offense—the Athare brothers sought answers.

On May 2, 2022, Subhash confronted the Investigating Officer about the case and recorded their conversation, during which he was allegedly threatened to withdraw the complaint against the trespassers. He was also allegedly threatened with possible charges under the Atrocities Act. Subhash later sent the recording to the Director General of Police, which led to the filing of the current FIR against him.

The brothers’ counsel argued that the FIR was retaliatory, based on fabricated evidence, and should be quashed. On the other hand, the prosecution claimed that the recording amounted to intimidation of police personnel, particularly since Subhash is a police officer himself, thus justifying the charges against the brothers.

After carefully examining the case, the Court evaluated the relevance of the Official Secrets Act, noting that the term "prohibited place" under Section 2(8) does not encompass police stations. The Court ultimately concluded that the charges under the Act were baseless.

While recognizing the gravity of the IPC allegations, the Court deferred to the lower court to assess whether the evidence was sufficient to pursue the charges of conspiracy and criminal intimidation.

As a result, the Court quashed the charges under the Official Secrets Act but allowed the IPC charges to proceed. The case will now return to the Judicial Magistrate First Class in Pathardi for further evaluation.

Advocate A.G. Ambetkar represented the Athare brothers, while Additional Public Prosecutor N.R. Dayama appeared for the State and police personnel.