V.K. Singh V. Central Bureau Of Investigation 2026 INSC 614 – CrPC- Official Secrets Act - Supply Of Documents

Official Secrets Act, 1923 ; Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 – Section 207 — Supply of documents cannot be denied to the accused merely on the ground that provisions of the Official Secrets Act have been invoked against him. (Para 14) [Context: Accused under OSA claimed right to copies of classified documents used against him-Where documents forming part of the chargesheet are confidential and implicate national security, an equitable balance can be achieved by supplying a typed copy of those documents to the accused with conditions that they shall be used only for court proceedings, shall not be circulated in any manner including electronic, print or social media, and that inspection of the original documents, if needed, shall be permitted before the Trial Court during hearing after the accused files an undertaking not to make them public.]

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 – Section 207 — When criminal proceedings are instituted on a police report, the Magistrate must provide the accused, free of charge, with copies of the police report, the FIR, statements of witnesses recorded under Section 161 (excluding any part properly withheld under Section 173(6)), confessions or statements recorded under Section 164, and any other document or relevant extract thereof forwarded with the police report, subject only to the exception that if any such document is voluminous the accused may instead be allowed to inspect it in court. An accused cannot be denied access to documents forming part of the charge-sheet, including those from the general diary, if such documents were obtained in good faith, are relevant to the prosecution’s case and their disclosure is considered necessary by the Public Prosecutor for the interests of justice and fair trial, because withholding such documents could seriously prejudice the accused’s right to a fair trial. (Para 12)

Criminal Trial – Right to Fair Trial – Article 21 of the Constitution of India — The right to fair trial of the accused, being an important facet of the fundamental right to life and personal liberty under Article 21, must be balanced with concerns of national security and sovereignty by evolving equitable arrangements rather than by wholesale denial of access to documents. (Para 15)