Delhi riots: Umar Khalid says not allowed outside cell, court summons Tihar jail official

NEW DELHI: Former JNU student Umar Khalid on Thursday alleged in court that he was not being allowed to step out of his cell as if he was in solitary confinement. He said it was taking a toll on his mental health and causing him extreme discomfort.
Additional sessions judge Amitabh Rawat, taking note, directed the jail superintendent to appear on the next hearing. Khalid also said that the jail staff wasn't unmuting him during the videoconferencing hearing for him to raise grievances before court.
Addressing the court, Khalid said that his grievance was regarding issues he had been facing inside the jail. “I am aware that your honour has passed an order. However, it has aggravated in the last 3-4 days. It is a sort of solitary confinement. Nobody is allowed near my cell. I am not allowed to step out of my cell. No one is allowed to talk to me,” he said, appearing from jail.
The court also warned there shouldn’t be any “half-hearted measures” and directed the jail authority to inform about the steps it was taking to address the grievances of the accused.
The order Khalid was referring to related to his security concerns inside the jail premises.
Khalid claimed that although a senior jail official had assured him that he would be allowed outside his cell, and even opened his cell for 10 minutes, he was back inside and not allowed any further. “It’s causing me extreme discomfort. I have not been well for the past three days. It is like punishment for unruly prisoners. Security ka matlab nahi hai aap bahar nahi niklenge (asking for security doesn’t mean one is not allowed outside),” he pointed out.
The court earlier ordered that Khalid be provided adequate security on his plea and allowed him to carry out his daily routine according to the jail rules.
Judge Rawat heard Khalid and said, “We will call the jail superintendent to appear tomorrow.”
Khalid’s lawyer Trideep Pais added, “Every hearing superintendent has assured that this will not happen…. Your honour may say that the jail superintendent should not take action against him only because he (Khalid) has complained.”
The court subsequently directed the jail superintendent to appear on Friday and said that if an undertrial wanted to say something in court then the jail authority ought to unmute and inform the court instead.