No handcuffing for convenience of escorting policemen: Court

"Going a step deeper, even if the report from reliable jail sources is to be believed that UTP (undertrial prisoner) Ravi Kapoor will try to escape from custody, convenience of the escorting staff cannot be a ground to abrogate the fundamental rights of this prisoner," Additional Sessions Judge Girish Kathpalia said.

The court, however, directed the jail authorities to increase the number of guards with the prisoner if they apprehend that Kapoor could escape.

"In the present case, jail authorities have not been able to make out any case that there is a clear and present danger of Kapoor breaking out of police control," the court said.
Citing an apex court order, the court said no prisoner shall be handcuffed or fettered routinely or merely for convenience of the custodian or escort.

The jail authorities alleged that Kapoor, who had earlier tried to escape from the custody of the escorting staff, needed to be handcuffed.

Kapoor is facing charges in over three dozen criminal cases including high-profile murder of TV journalist Soumya Vishwanathan and IT executive Jigisha Ghosh here.
Of the various grounds mentioned by the jail authorities, only the apprehension that Kapoor could try to escape is worth looking into.

"None of the other grounds namely the misbehaviour or threatening attitude is worth even being looked into for the purpose of deciding whether or not to allow handcuffing," the court said.

The court rejected the allegations of Kapoor against the jail authorities that they were pressurising him to convert his religion.

It said there has been no such complaints all these years as the jail authorities had made separate arrangements for prisoners belonging to other religions for the purpose of praying.

The court directed the Jail Superintendent to ensure that the prisoner would be allowed to attend his religious congregation inside the jail.

While asking the jail authorities to beef up the security of the prisoner in the wake of assault by co-prisoners, the court directed them to arrange a separate van for him and increase the number of escort guards from two to four with immediate effect.