Sasikala writes to Bengaluru prison officials, requests not to reveal details of her release

V K Sasikala. (File)

Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s close aide VK Sasikala has written a letter to the Bengaluru Parappana Agrahara prison Superintendent requesting not to entertain any kind of application of the third parties under the Right to Information Act seeking details related to her imprisonment, release date, etc.

In a letter dated September 19, Sasikala said the third parties file those applications for gaining publicity and also due to political vendetta. “The oblique motive of some applicants is to complicate my lawful release at the right time,” the letter read.

Sasikala cited the Ved Prakash Aryavs’ case where the jail authorities denied providing information of undertrial prisoners as well as convicts.

“In a similar matter Ved Prakash Aryavs, an applicant under RTI had sought certain information related to an undertrial prisoner detained at Tihar Jail. The Public Information authorities denied providing such information stating that details of under trial prisoners as well as convicts are personal and any revelation of the identity of the same is barred under section.8(1)(j) of the RTI act. The Central information concurred with the stand of the said Public Information Officer and upheld the decision of the said PIO by referring to the Honb’le Supreme Court‘s view that the Right to Privacy is a fundamental right. Thus, furnishing any information regarding my imprisonment and other details may lead to intrusion into my privacy,” the letter added.

Sasikala has been sentenced to four years in a disproportionate assets case, in which Tamil Nadu’s late chief minister Jayalalithaa had been the prime accused.

Sasikala’s letter was sent to the Bengaluru Parappana Agrahara prison Superintendent a few days after an advocate and activist T Naramisha Reddy received a reply for an RTI application he had filed. The office of the Chief Superintendent of Prison had said that Sasikala’s probable date of release would be January 27, 2021, if she agrees to pay a fine of 10 crore rupees handed over to her in the disproportionate assets case. It further added that the release date may vary if Sasikala utilizes the parole facility.

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