UPSC Articles
Arrest under Official Secrets Act
Part of: GS Prelims and GS-II – International Relations & GS-III – Security
In news
- Recently, Delhi police has arrested a strategic affairs analyst under the Official Secrets Act (OSA), 1923 for passing information such as the deployment of Indian troops on the border to Chinese intelligence officers.
Important value additions
Official Secrets Act (OSA)
- OSA broadly deals with two aspects — spying or espionage and disclosure of secret information of the government.
- However, the OSA does not define the secret information.
- Generally secret information includes any official code, password, sketch, plan, model, article, note, document, or information.
- If guilty, a person may get up to 14 years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both. Both the person communicating the information and the person receiving the information can be punished under the OSA.
