The Delhi High Court has formed a panel to probe allegations of brutalities on inmates by jail authorities in Tihar's high-risk ward.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar termed the allegations "very disturbing" and appointed a three-member fact-finding committee to inquire into an alleged incident, in which 18 inmates were beaten up. "It is our duty to ensure their (inmates) life is safe and secure even though they are accused of serious offences," the bench said.
The committee would comprise District Judge Brijesh Sethi, law professor Mrinal Satish and advocate Sumeet Vermato.
The court was hearing a PIL filed by advocate Chinmay Kanojia, who has alleged that his client Shahid Husuf, on trial and being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), was beaten up without any reason.
According to complaints, inmates of blocks C and F of the high-risk ward were assaulted by the Tamil Nadu police and prison officials for more than an hour.
"We need to take a call. It (the incident) is completely unjustifiable. If this is the situation in Delhi, what about other places," the court said, adding, the issue was "extremely serious" and required a "serious probe" before an intervention by this court.
A plea, filed by advocate Jawahar Raja on November 24, said a particular community was being targeted by jail staff.
The court also flagged the jail's poor living conditions and asked the Delhi government and prison authorities as to "which law says that prisoners should sleep on the floor".
Earlier on November 22, a committee of senior officials from the High Court was formed to look into the allegations. It submitted its report stating that inmates were beaten and assaulted without any justifiable reasons.
The report also stated that prisoners were beaten up with such severity that it resulted in them harbouring a constant fear of being killed on one pretext or another.
Following this, the court directed that all 18 inmates, who were injured on November 21, be produced before the medical superintendent of the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). It also said that a board would be constituted by the medical superintendent to conduct medical test of the prisoners and give reports to the newly constituted committee.
The bench also directed that the CCTV footage of the incident be preserved for future reference and fixed the matter for a hearing on December 19.
On November 20, the Delhi High Court had taken cognisance of media reports where a foreign court had struck down India's extradition request stating that there would be human rights violations at Tihar due to the conditions.
In another case, 27-year old Shamiun Rahman, a British national of Bangladeshi origin arrested for allegedly recruiting Rohingya youths for al Qaeda to carry out terror activities, had moved a Delhi court alleging sexual harassment inside the jail.
The report stated that in the last 15-20 days aggressive searches were conducted in the jail. Also, there was no provocation from the inmates.
The operation in-charge informed the committee that he had not given permission for whatever happened in Jail 1 on November 21. The CCTV footage of C and F blocks of Jail 1 showed that an alarm rang resulting in a panic situation.
Following this, several officers entered the cell (high-risk ward) and started assaulting the prisoners mercilessly. It lasted for 15-20 minutes.
