The Supreme Court on Friday refused bail to vlogger and YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, accused of sharing sensitive information with ISI operatives, stating that “there cannot be any compromise in terms of national security”.
After Malhotra’s plea challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s order denying her bail was dismissed on March 7, a bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and SC Sharma described the allegations against her as “extremely serious”.
“These are very serious charges against you and any defense you have is subject to prosecution,” the bench noted.
Malhotra’s lawyer said she was arrested on May 16 last year and remained in custody for more than a year despite having no criminal record.
But the court said that the charges related to issues related to national security. “There cannot be any compromise as far as national security is concerned. The allegation is that you go to a neighboring country and visit people in Chanakya Puri. You were in constant touch with the person who was asked by the government to leave the country. This is not a case of bail. You are facing trial,” the judge said.
Malhotra, a resident of Hisar in Haryana state, is accused of passing sensitive information to Pakistani intelligence officials. She runs a YouTube channel called “Travel-with-Jo”.
A case has been registered against her under the Official Secrets Act and Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), in connection with acts threatening the sovereignty and integrity of the country, after the Haryana Police collected evidence of her meetings with an official of the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi.
According to investigators, Malhotra later traveled to Pakistan and met officers associated with Pakistan’s security and intelligence services, whose names she allegedly revealed during interrogation.
The police claimed that they remained in regular contact with the agents through several social media platforms and shared video footage of the Pandoh Dam in Himachal Pradesh, strategic installations and security institutions.
Investigators also claimed that a forensic examination of her electronic devices revealed that she used several social media platforms to communicate with clients in Pakistan and routinely deleted conversations after the exchanges. Police also cited suspicious banking transactions as part of the evidence against her.
During the investigation, Haryana Police also found that Malhotra was used to secretly meet Ehsan Rahim alias Dane at the Pakistan High Commission. The Dane was later declared persona non grata by the Union Ministry of External Affairs and asked to leave India on May 14, 2025.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court, despite rejecting her bail plea earlier, observed that there was enough preliminary evidence to prove the offenses under the Official Secrets Act and Section 152 of the National Security Act.
“The allegations leveled against the petitioner relate to the commission of an offense of a very serious nature, namely, indulging in anti-national activities and transferring sensitive information to the neighboring country,” the apex court said.
It further held that, given the petitioner’s “behaviour, the seriousness of the crime and other mitigating circumstances”, she was not entitled to bail.
