Espionage Case: 'Spy' Youtuber Jyoti Malhotra's Bail Plea Rejected by Haryana Court

The bail plea of YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, who was arrested on suspicion of espionage, was rejected by a local court in Haryana on Wednesday.

Her judicial custody was extended by the court on June 9, and the next hearing was scheduled for June 23. Earlier, on May 26, the court had remanded her to judicial custody for 14 days.

The 33-year-old was arrested on May 16 from the New Aggarsain Extension area in Hisar, Haryana, and booked under provisions of the Official Secrets Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Following her arrest, the court initially sent her to five days of police remand.

Jyoti appeared before the court via video conferencing.

The bail petition, filed by her lawyer Kumar Mukesh, was heard by Judicial Magistrate (First Class) Sunil Kumar. The police opposed the plea, stating that the investigation is still ongoing.

On May 29, advocate Kumar Mukesh told news agency ANI, “Jyoti Malhotra appointed me as her advocate yesterday. Today, I have submitted the Vakalatnama in court. I will study the case and then comment further.”

Regarding Jyoti's bail hearing, he had said, “The police are investigating her financial transactions. Her appearance in court on the next date of hearing may be through video conferencing.”

Jyoti is accused of sharing sensitive military information with Pakistani intelligence operatives.

According to the police, she has been in contact with Ehsan-ur-Rahim, also known as Danish, a Pakistani High Commission official in Delhi, since November 2023. Danish was expelled by India on May 13 on charges of espionage.

Recently, news agency IANS reported that retired Pakistani police sub-inspector Nasir Dhillon allegedly befriended Indian YouTubers, including Jyoti Malhotra, to obtain confidential Indian Army information under the guidance of the ISI and Pakistan Army.

After retirement, Dhillon ran a YouTube channel and allegedly used his network to facilitate espionage activities, IANS reported.

Jyoti's arrest was part of a major crackdown on Pakistan spy nexus following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack which killed 26 people. India responded to the attack by launching Operation Sindoor to target terror bases in Pakistan.

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