Court allows British plane-spotters to walk free

New Delhi, Mar 5 (PTI) Two Britishers, accused of
illegally recording conversations between pilots and Air
Traffic Control, were Friday allowed to walk free by a Delhi
court after paying a fine of Rs 25,000 each.
Stephen Hampston (46) and Steve Martin (55), who were
looking calm and composed, admitted their guilt before the
court but claimed that they were ignorant of penal
consequences of their plane spotting hobby in this country.
Rajeev Awasthi, counsel for the accused, pleaded
that they be permitted to leave the country as nothing
incriminating has been found against them by various
investigative agencies.
Accepting the plea bargaining applications of the
Britons, the court asked them to deposit a fine of Rs 25,000
each.
The court also asked Delhi police to take requisite
steps for returning their laptops, which were seized
at the time of their arrest, after scrutinising the contents.
The Britons, who are employed with Railways in UK,
were confined to Radisson Hotel near the international airport
here on February 15 after hotel staff reported to police that
they were indulging in "suspicious activities".
Earlier, the court had granted bail to Hampston and
Martin on furnishing a personal bond and a surety bond of Rs
10,000 each and asked them not to leave the country without
its permission.
The Delhi police had booked the Britons under the
Indian Telegraph Act for allegedly recording the conversation
between pilots and Air Traffic Control. (MORE) PTI