Nagpur- The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has set aside the life sentence given to former BrahMos Aerospace engineer Nishant Agrawal, convicted in an espionage case, saying he had not acted against national interest.

The court, however, upheld his conviction for negligence.

In June last year, a sessions court here awarded life imprisonment to Nishant Pradeepkumar Agrawal, former engineer with BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd, arrested in 2018 on the charge of spying for the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI.

While partly overturning his conviction, the HC said the prosecution brought nothing on record to show that he had done anything to threaten the“unity, integrity, security or safety of India” or to strike terror in society.

A division bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Pravin Patil on Monday cleared Agrawal of the major charges under the Information Technology Act and the Official Secrets Act (OSA), and set aside his life sentence.

But the high court upheld Agarwal's conviction and three-year jail sentence under section 5(1)(d) of the OSA for `negligence and failure to take reasonable care of sensitive information in one's possession.'

Agarwal, however, is entitled to get a set-off for the period of detention he has already undergone.

The bench said the prosecution failed to prove” the circumstances or the conduct of the accused or his known character to show purpose prejudicial to the safety or interest of the state.”

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