New Delhi, March 4 -- The Supreme Court recently directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to decide within a month whether to provide "sensitive" documents to a retired Army officer facing trial under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) for exposing alleged irregularities within the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) in a book published in 2007. In a hearing on Friday, the top court said confidentiality cannot be grounds to deny the veteran these documents if they are the basis for prosecuting him under OSA. A bench of justices JK Maheshwari and Atul S Chandurkar said: "If you (CBI) are using the documents against him, you cannot say they are confidential. You find a way out without inviting an order from this court." The court was hearing a petition filed by Major General (retd) VK Singh who blew the lid off the irregularities within the R&AW in his book "India's External Intelligence - Secrets of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW)" published soon after his retirement in 2007. Singh's lawyer Suroor Mander pointed out that the documents are crucial to his defence. "My client seeks 12 documents and statements by four witnesses." She pointed out that the trial court ruled in their favour and directed that a copy of each document be provided under some conditions. But the Delhi high court reversed that ruling, citing that confidentiality permitted only inspection of the documents, Mander said. "Why are you not permitting him the documents?" the bench asked CBI, represented in court by additional solicitor general (ASG) Davinder Pal Singh. The ASG said, "There is sensitivity attached to these documents. They are interested only in knowing which documents they are. The high court has allowed inspection, which serves their purpose." The matter will be taken up next on April 10....