Official Secrets Act 1923

• 26 May 2025

Source: IE 

A travel blogger from Haryana was arrested for alleged espionage and promoting pro-Pakistan content under Sections 3 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923 & Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). 

Official Secrets Act (OSA), 1923 

• About:  It originated during the colonial-era Indian Official Secrets Act, 1889, aimed at suppressing press dissent and made more stringent in 1904 under Lord Curzon and finally revised in 1923. 
• Purpose: To prevent espionage and unauthorized disclosure of classified sensitive information, protecting India’s sovereignty, integrity, and strategic interests, especially from foreign threats. 
• Applicability: Applicable to all Indian citizens, including government officials, both in India and abroad, and to non-citizens if they are involved in acts of espionage. 
• Sections of OSA, 1923: 
  • Section 3 of the Act criminalises espionage and acts against national security, including the possession of sensitive documents or the sharing of secret codes, with a punishment of imprisonment for up to 14 years. 
  • Section 5 penalises unauthorised disclosure, possession, retention, or failure to return official documents, including those who knowingly receive such information. 
  • Section 10 deals with penalty for harboring spies  

Section 152 of the BNS 

• Section 152 of BNS (deals with sedition) criminalizes intentional acts—by words, signs, electronic means, or finance—that incite secession, rebellion, or threaten India’s sovereignty and integrity, while exempting legitimate and lawful criticism of the government.

Read More: Arrest Under Official Secrets Act, Sedition Charges.