Jyoti Malhotra Espionage Case: Judicial Custody Extended to July 21 Explained

She is a social media artist cum Youtuber Jyoti Malhotra, whose Youtube channel is Travel with JO, and she was arrested by the Hisar police on May 16, 2025. She has been charged under the Act in regards to espionage namely Official Secrets Act, 1923, and laws included in Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Her arrest is one of the investigations on a suspect spy network that has allegedly links to the Pakistani intelligence agents.

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Primary arrest and being held by Police.

Malhotra was first taken in custody by the police after she was arrested in the New Aggarsain Extension area in Hisar. The first remand was lasting five days, and it was extended further with four more days. This police detention time gave investigators a chance to get Malhotra in custody and ask questions as well as have a second chance of retrieving evidence. Police officials claimed that she had no evidence to indicate that Malhotra had accessed any classified defense or military information, however, they claimed that she had contact with those known to be Pakistani intelligence operators.

Changing to Judicial Custody

When the police custody of Jyoti Malhotra expired on May 26, 2025 she was simply remanded to judicial custody. The term judicial custody means that an alleged individual has been placed in a prison or jail, by the direction of a magistrate or by a court whereas under the police custody, it is the authority of police officers to interrogate an individual directly. This procedure is monitored by the courts whose concern is ensuring that the accused is detained until the end of the investigation or trial, taking care of his rights.

Accusations on having connections with the Pakistani Intelligence

The investigators have claimed that Jyoti Malhotra had been communicating with Ehsan-ur-Rahim also known as Danish since November 2023. Danish worked in two locations including the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi and had been expelled out of India on May 13, 2025, due to espionage suspicions. According to the authorities, attempts were in process of developing Malhotra into an intelligence agent by the Pakistani operatives. Police sources also reported that Malhotra had travelled to Pakistan several times and vlogged the various visits on both her YouTube and Instagram handles. In one of such visits, traffic was purportedly held aside so that she could move freely, a privilege normally enjoyed by heavy profile guests, adding more suspicions on the nature of her visits and connections.

Extensions to Judicial Custody

Malhotra has been regularly remanded since May 26, 2025, when she first faced the court in judicial custody. On June 9 2025, her judicial custody was extended by 14 days and shortly afterwards on June 23 2025. On July 7, 2025, Hisar court once again granted her another 14 days judicial custody. This is the fourth time her judicial custody was extended. The court refrained that the hearing date on the case is July 21, 2025. These proceedings were made through video conferencing by Malhotra who had appeared before the court with a video session.

Indian Legal System of Judicial Detention

The measures which govern judicial custody in India are mainly those of the Section 167 of code of criminal procedure (CrPC), 1973 which has now been extended to relevant measures under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). This part proposes the operation of activating an accused individual to judicial custody in situation where the investigation cannot be finished inside the range of 24 hours. A magistrate is entitled to order detention in judicial custody of not more than 90 days in the case of any offense that is punishable by death, life imprisonment or imprisonment that has more than ten years. In other offences the limit is 60 days. These are in times of the complete detention in the phase of the investigation. Judicial custody can be extended by the magistrate when he is satisfied there are enough grounds to do so in most cases on the request of the prosecution on the basis that it requires room to investigate further. The defendant may access an attorney, treatment and visitation privileges by the judicial custody but through the rules of the jail.

Bail Applications and Police Objection

A typical bail appeal by Jyoti Malhotra was already denied the court on June 9, 2025. Police were against the bail claim by citing that the investigation was pending and still going on. The police claimed that her release would compromise the on going investigation against the espionage activities and her suspected links.

Disputed Motives and Legal claims

Lawyer of Malhotra Kumar Mukesh has challenged the charges mentioned in the First Information Report (FIR). He has asserted that the purported episode happened in 2023 when the Indian Penal Code (IPC) existed but the case has been registered by the Hisar police against her under Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). That happened with Section 124-A of the IPC (sedition) being replaced by Section 152 of the BNS. Mukesh indicated that the Supreme Court of India had kept Section 124-A in abeyance which meant that it could not be applied to prosecute. In addition, Mukesh framed that FIR was founded on her version, as recorded during the time of questioning on May 15, and that legal principle could not be used to force an individual to testify against himself or herself.

Greater Investigation Background

Jyoti Malhotra was reported as a part and parcel of an overall crackdown taking place in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The action is connected with an alleged spy ring that is reported to have targeted Indian social influencers on social media to gather intelligence. Malhotra is one of about 12 people charged with this broader case.

The court has granted the judicial custody of Jyoti Malhotra till July 21, 2025 on the same as checks for the alleged espionage case are still underway. The judicial procedure also includes a certain periodical inspection by the court with account of investigative progress and reasons offered as to why the person remains in custody. The case throws light on the legal complexities of espionage penalty under the Indian law and intricacies of the judicial custody and applying for bail. Sources