The Madras High Court on Thursday ruled against withdrawal of prison privileges to Murugan alias Sriharan, a life convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, and paved the way for him to meet his wife and co-convict S. Nalini at the Vellore Central Prison.
Disposing of two habeas corpus petitions filed by Sriharan’s niece complaining about his failing health due to a fast undertaken in protest, Justices M.M. Sundresh and RMT. Teekaa Raman held that the withdrawal of privileges could not be sustained in law due to non-adherence to prison rules.
The judges agreed with the petitioner’s counsel P. Pugalenthi that prison authorities had admittedly failed to conduct an inquiry under Rule 304 of the Tamil Nadu Prison Rules of 1983 before withdrawing the privileges, such as permission to meet relatives, by exercising their powers under Rule 302.
The judges agreed with State Public Prosecutor A. Natarajan that it was essential to lodge the convict, at least for three months, in the block where mobile phone signal jammers had been installed since contraband including mobile phone, SIM card, a data storage card and other prohibited things had been recovered from him.
The SPP said that a Quick Reaction Team (QRT) in the central prison had recently searched the cell where the convict was lodged, on the basis of a tip-off, and recovered a 4G mobile phone with battery, a SIM card and a memory card from his possession.
Immediately, a case was booked against him under Section 42 of the Prison Act.
Subsequently, during another search, the QRT recovered one more old mobile phone battery, two mobile phone chargers, another SIM card, two small knives, two blades, two Direct Current to Alternate Current adapter circuit boards, one electric tester, three nail cutters and coins worth ₹11 in the vicinity where he had been lodged.
When the Superintendent of the Prison questioned the convict about the seizures, the convict replied arrogantly and stated that he would deal with the issue in court, the SPP said.
Since he had behaved in an indisciplined manner, the officials chose to withdraw his prison privileges for a limited period of three months, he added.
Further, denying the petitioner’s claim that her uncle had been kept under solitary confinement, Mr. Natarajan told the court that many other prisoners were also lodged in the block to which Sriharan had been shifted now.
The court was also told that the block was well ventilated and had sanitary as well as other basic infrastructural facilities.
A report from the prison doctors was also presented in the court to show that the convict was keeping good health and all his vital parameters were within permissible limits.
Thereafter, the judges recorded the submission of the petitioner’s counsel that he would advice his client to withdraw the fast undertaken in protest and start consuming food.
