The Gujarat High Court on Friday granted anticipatory bail to journalist Mahesh Langa in connection with a case against him for allegedly possessing confidential government documents pertaining to the Gujarat Maritime Board, Bar and Bench reported.

However, Langa, a journalist with The Hindu in Ahmedabad, will continue to remain in jail on account of other cases against him.

Justice Hasmukh D Suthar said that there was no bar on entertaining the anticipatory bail application of an accused person in judicial custody.

Langa has been in jail since October, when he was arrested for his alleged involvement in a Goods and Service Tax-related scam.

At least seven cases have been filed against Langa. These include five FIRs by the Gujarat Police and two cases by the Enforcement Directorate.

Langa was first arrested by the Ahmedabad Crime Branch on October 7 in an alleged Goods and Services Tax-related fraud.

The police alleged that a company named Dhruvi Enterprise created six firms from a single Permanent Account Number to fraudulently receive input tax credit. One of the companies named in the FIR is DA Enterprise.

On October 22, the police registered the second case against Langa for allegedly possessing the confidential documents on the Gujarat Maritime Board. The documents were recovered from him during his arrest in the first case.

Earlier this month, Justice Divyesh A Joshi dismissed the petition filed by Langa seeking to quash the matter pertaining to the alleged possession of confidential documents after observing that a prima facie case was made out against him, according to Bar and Bench.

On Friday, Justice Hasmukh Suthar said that it appeared that the journalist acquired information from the Gujarat Maritime Board by earning the trust of an employee. Langa subsequently received information about the extension of contracts for three ports from the employee, the judge added.

He also provided a “gift” to the employee after receiving an envelope containing the documents, the court added.

However, the judge said that as per the statements recorded during the investigation, although the envelope was handed over, there was no conclusive evidence that it contained the specified documents and that it may have been merely a copy.

Suthar said that if a Gujarat Maritime Board employee disclosed or shared such confidential office information with a third party, it would constitute a violation of civil service conduct rules. The employee would have to be held accountable for such actions, he added.

Merely possessing a copy of the information did not constitute the alleged offence, the judge added, according to Bar and Bench.

Press bodies have urged the police to withdraw the case against Langa for the alleged possession of confidential government documents.

On October 29, Langa was booked on charges of allegedly cheating a businessman in Ahmedabad.

On the same day, the Ahmedabad Zonal Office of the Enforcement Directorate announced it had filed a money-laundering case against Langa and others.