Pune, Jun 19 A local court has framed charges against former Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientist Pradeep Kurulkar for alleged espionage, paving the way for the commencement of trial from the next month.
"The court on Thursday framed charges against Kurulkar under sections 3 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act....the trial is set to start in the second week of July. As the case involves provisions of the Official Secrets Act, the proceedings will be held in-camera," special public prosecutor Ujjwala Pawar said.
Sections 3 and 5 of the OSA deal with "penalties for spying" and "wrongful communication", respectively.
Kurulkar, a senior DRDO scientist, was accused of sharing sensitive and classified information with an alleged Pakistani agent. The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which is probing the case, had filed the charge sheet on June 30, 2023.
The case is currently before the court of P Y Ladekar, special judge for ATS cases.
Kurulkar had moved a discharge application through advocates Rishikesh R Ganu and Raghav Puranik. However, the court rejected the plea, and framed charges under Sections 3(1)(c), 4 and 5(1)(a), 5(1)(c) and 5(1)(d) of the Official Secrets Act, 1923.
The matter has now been posted for further hearing on June 20, 2026.
The court directed the prosecution to submit a list of documents it is going to rely on.
