Pune court rejects former DRDO scientist Dr Pradeep Kurulkar's bail application in espionage case

The Pune District and Sessions court on Thursday, 7 December, rejected the bail application of former DRDO scientist Dr Pradeep Kurulkar. Accused in a defence espionage case, Dr Kurulkar, a prominent defence scientist was arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in May on charges of allegedly leaking sensitive defence secrets to Pakistani Intelligence Operative (PIO) Zara Dasgupta.

Rejecting the bail application, the judge in his order stated, "There is a prima facie case against the accused and the offence is of serious nature. Some data from the mobile of the accused is yet to be recovered". While giving the order, the judge further stated that while considering the rulings of the apex court that when there is a prima facie case, it will not be just to release the accused and the bail application stands rejected.

Dr Kurulkar’s lawyer Advocate Rhishikesh Ganu filed his bail application and argued that the chargesheet in the case has been filed. The entire case of the prosecution is based on mobile and technology, he said. Therefore, it is not possible for the accused to tamper with the evidence. Opposing the bail application, Special Public Prosecutor Advocate Vijay Fargade in his submission stated, “The accused was a senior official and hence he can pressurise the witness and the possibility of tampering with evidence".

Considering all these reasons, it won't be proper to grant bail to the accused. Advocate Ganu further stated that after obtaining the certified copy of the bail order, they will move for bail in the Bombay High Court. Till his arrest, Kurulkar had been officiaiting as head of the most important defence security and research establishment i.e. R&DE(E) under the DRDO. The R&DE official website describes Kurulkar as an outstanding scientist who took over as Director of Research & Development Establishment (Engineers) R&DE(E), a premier Systems Engineering Laboratory of DRDO.

As Project Leader and system manager for Akash Ground Systems, Dr Kurulkar has been a key member of Akash team and has played a major role in the design, development and production of Akash Launchers and mission-critical Ground Systems for the Indian defence sector. The ATS earlier had told the court that the accused served as scientist ‘H’ between 13 December 2022, till 24 February 2023, and misused his official position and gave sensitive secret defence information to Pakistani intelligence operatives.

The ATS investigation into the Kurulkar espionage case has revealed that the (PIO) who had contacted the senior DRDO scientist was also in touch with Nikhil Shende, an Indian Air Force (IAF) official based in Bangalore, using the same internet protocol (IP) address traced to the neighbouring country.  

A complaint was lodged against Dr Kurulkar by the vigilance and security office of the DRDO in Delhi. Earlier his two mobile phones and a personal laptop had been seized by the vigilance team and an internal inquiry had established that he made communication via social media, WhatsApp messages, voice messages and video calls with a PIO. A forensic analysis revealed his misconduct. A case under Official Secrets Act 1923 was lodged against him at Kalachowki unit of the ATS in Mumbai.