Official Secret Act (1923): - Official secret act 1923 is a comprehensive law, relating to official secrets and creates a number of offences relating to them. Both journalist and ordinary people may be punish for commenting these offences. These cover making, sketches, plans, models or notes which may be useful to an enemy and obtaining, collecting, recording, publishing or communicating to any person, any secret code and a password or any sketch, article, note or other documents which may be directly or indirectly useful to an enemy or to a foreign agent or which relates to a matter the closer of which is likely to affect the sovergnity and integrity of India, the security of the state of friendly relation with foreign states.
Entry into probihted places declared as such in the only official gadgets by the central government also comes under the act.
Punishment may be up to 14 years of imprisonment of matters relating to defense and 3 years for other matters. Communication with foreign agents will be enough evidence of committing of such offences. Wrongful communication of information to out- siders by government servants is also equally punishable. An authorized used of uniform, of reports, of documents, forgery, passing on false documents, interference with officers or guards on duty, misleading them, insightment to commit the above offences are all under the offences the act punishable with 3 years imprisonment or fine or both. People may be excluded from court proceeding for trial of offences under this act is not necessary.
Entry into probihted places declared as such in the only official gadgets by the central government also comes under the act.
Punishment may be up to 14 years of imprisonment of matters relating to defense and 3 years for other matters. Communication with foreign agents will be enough evidence of committing of such offences. Wrongful communication of information to out- siders by government servants is also equally punishable. An authorized used of uniform, of reports, of documents, forgery, passing on false documents, interference with officers or guards on duty, misleading them, insightment to commit the above offences are all under the offences the act punishable with 3 years imprisonment or fine or both. People may be excluded from court proceeding for trial of offences under this act is not necessary.