New Delhi, 13 November (H.S.):The Patiala House Court in Delhi has directed the Delhi Police to obtain the necessary sanction from the competent authority to prosecute Wing Commander Manorath Singh Sabharwal. The court also instructed the concerned Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) to expedite the process of securing the requisite approval. The matter will be heard next on December 5.

Sabharwal was arrested on May 30 on allegations of sharing sensitive information related to the Indian Air Force with Pakistani intelligence agents. According to the Delhi Police chargesheet, he had been in contact with a Pakistani agent through a honey-trap operation between January 12 and April 1. He is accused of sharing sensitive details about the deployment of fighter aircraft in Leh, military exercises at the Mahajan Field Firing Range in Suratgarh, and a classified drone unit.

The police have also alleged that, at the agent's direction, Sabharwal installed malware or spyware on the mobile phones of five subordinate officers, potentially exposing sensitive data and official communications to unauthorised access. According to the chargesheet, after receiving a nude photograph from a suspected Pakistani operative, Sabharwal uploaded a page from a 'secret war plan'. He allegedly told the operative that he would provide another page of the war plan in exchange for every nude photograph.

The chargesheet contains details of the conversations between Sabharwal and the suspected operative. It states that an analysis of WhatsApp PMPs (preserved message protocol) data revealed an exchange of 3,008 text messages, 65 photographs, 65 reactions, 42 voice calls, four video calls and six URLs between the officer and the suspected Pakistani operative.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar