A Delhi court on Tuesday directed the Tihar jail authorities to shift Christian Michel James from solitary confinement. He is in judicial custody in connection with the ₹3,600-crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal case.
Special Judge Arvind Kumar passed the order on an application by the accused through his lawyers Sriram Parakkat and Vishnu Shankar seeking his shifting from the high-security cell to a normal one, arguing that he was kept in isolation and not allowed to interact with anyone.
Allowing the application, the judge said: “Keeping in view the overall facts and circumstances, the DG, Prisons, is directed to take immediate remedial measures regarding solitary confinement of accused Christian Michel James. At the same time, the security and safety of the accused shall also be ensured,” the judge ordered.
“The jail authority is further directed to keep the CCTV footage of the place where accused Christian Michel James is kept, at least, of initial two months. The accused shall be granted all facilities such as library, magazines, canteen, sports, etc., as per jail manual and as is being provided to other undertrial prisoners,” the judge said.
“Perusal of CCTV footage of jail no.1 shows that accused has been kept in total isolation and same is not less than a solitary confinement. It is noted that not even a single co-prisoner is allowed in the said block and not even a single person is at a visible range from the cell where the accused has been kept,” the judge stated.
“It is undisputed fact that solitary confinement can cause an array of mental disorder as well as provoke an already existing mental disorder in prison... There has not been a single complaint against accused regarding his conduct and further the jail authorities cannot put a person under solitary confinement in the name of security concern,” the judge further said.