The Bombay High Court on Wednesday denied bail to retired DRDO scientist Pradeep Kurulkar, arrested in 2023 on charges of sharing sensitive information with an alleged Pakistani woman intelligence operative, noting that he passed on vital information during intimate chats.

A bench of Justice S G Dige also stated that, although retired, Kurulkar may influence some of the witnesses who had worked under him and might abscond. Kurulkar, 60, was arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on May 3, 2023, in a suspected honey-trap espionage case based on a complaint lodged by the defence research establishment.