Navy leak case: HC grants bail to Abhishek Verma

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Friday granted bail to the navy war room leak accused Abhishek Verma but restrained him from leaving Delhi without prior permission of the trial court. Verma, a Delhi-based businessman and the son of former MP Veena Verma and poet Srikant Verma, was in jail since July 2006 for his alleged involvement in leaking of the classified documents from the Directorate of Naval Operation here. "On balancing several factors this court comes to the conclusion that the petitioner (Verma) should be granted bail, subject to the conditions which would be stringent considering the nature of the case and the fact that he is facing trial and prosecution in certain other cases," said Justice S Muralidhar in a judgement. Justice Muralidhar asked the accused to furnish a personal bond of Rs 10 lakh and two sureties of same amount. The court directed Verma to surrender his passport to the CBI and asked him to appear before the trial court on every second and fourth Monday of the month and furnish his current address. Further, the CBI was also asked to ensure that the accused should not go out of India during the pendency of the proceedings. The court made it clear that in case Verma attempts to influence any witness or tampers with evidence or violates any of the conditions, the investigating agency can seek cancellation of his bail.
30 May 2008, 2117 hrs IST,PTI
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