New Delhi:

Calling it an abuse of the process of the law, the Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea of alleged conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar to shift him from Mandoli Jail in the national capital to any other prison, except ones in Punjab and Delhi.

A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and P B Varale noted similar pleas previously filed by Chandrasekhar were dismissed by the top court.

The bench told Chandrasekhar that his grievance was against the Delhi government and now with a change in the dispensation, the grievance does not survive.

“You have money to spend, you keep on taking chances. This is abuse of process of law. How can you keep filing same petition?” it said.

It went on, “We are not inclined to entertain the petition filed under Article 32 of the constitution. We have not expressed opinion on merits of the case. However we cannot resist ourselves in expressing that present petitioner has tried to misuse process of law by filing writs one after another under guise of changed circumstances.” Senior advocate Shoeb Alam, appearing for Chandrasekhar, said the petitioner had a right under Article 21 of the Constitution not to be kept away from his family.

He sought Chandrasekhar to be sent to any jail in Karnataka or near it.

“We are worried about society and its safety also. Your fundamental rights cannot be enforced at the cost of others. Look at the kind of allegations you levelled against the officers,” added the bench.

The top court had sought response from the Delhi government on Chandrasekhar’s plea.

Chandrasekhar claimed he was put under surveillance with two cameras to pressure him to withdraw his complaints.

His lawyer argued Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena recommended a probe by the CBI against former minister Satyendra Jain on Chandrasekhar’s complaint.

“Please, send me anywhere in the country, except Punjab and Delhi where the Aam Aadmi Party is not there,” he submitted.

The top court last year dismissed Chandrasekhar and his wife’s plea seeking a direction to authorities to shift them from Mandoli Jail to a prison outside Delhi raising security concerns and said his plea was “without substance” and there was “no justification to grant indulgence” to them.

Chandrasekhar accused Jain of extorting Rs 10 crore “protection money” from him aside from claiming that he contributed about Rs 50 crore to AAP.

He was earlier transferred from Tihar Jail to Mandoli Jail after he approached the court claiming threat to his life.

The alleged conman and his wife are lodged in jail on charges of alleged money laundering and cheating several people.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

The Bombay High Court has granted bail to alleged conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar in a 2015 cheating case lodged by the city police’s Economic Offences Wing.

Sukesh Chandrasekhar, however, will not walk out of Delhi’s Tihar Jail, where he is currently lodged, since he is an accused in several cases.

A single bench of Justice Manish Pitale, in its order of Thursday, details of which were made available during the day, noted that the accused has been incarcerated in the present offence for more than seven years and the trial is yet to commence.

Sukesh Chandrasekhar was arrested in the case in May 2015 under Indian Penal Code and Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act for allegedly floating a bogus firm called ‘Lion Oak Indian’ and launching various investment schemes that promised 20 per cent monthly returns apart from rewards like Tata Nano car, gold coins etc.

Sukesh Chandrasekhar, who is accused of amassing Rs 19 crore through this ponzi scheme, in his plea said the maximum sentence in case of conviction was seven years, time that he had already spent in jail awaiting trial.

He moved the Bombay HC after his bail plea was rejected by the special MPID court.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

 Delhi’s Patiala House Court, in a recent order, directed the jail authorities to provide an air cooler to Sukesh Chandrasekhar on medical grounds at his own expense.

Chandrasekhar, who is in judicial custody in connection with the Rs 200 crore extortion case, had sought relief on the medical grounds that he had developed skin problems due to a high temperature.

After considering the submissions and facts that centralised air conditioning system at Mandoli jail is under repair, Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Chander jit Singh passed the direction.

The court said that it is a matter of record, being the report filed by Jail Authorities, that the applicant/accused has been advised to maintain optimum temperature for recovery and to avoid further exposure to skin disease.

“Therefore, it is directed that jail authorities shall take all measures to maintain the optimum room temperature in the cell where accused/applicant Sukesh Chandrashekhar is lodged and if need be, to achieve this optimum temperature, to provide private cooler to applicant/accused at his own expense,” ASJ Singh ordered on June 3.

The court observed, “The scorching heat Delhi is experiencing is unprecedented. At the time of framing the Delhi Prison Rules 2018, such a circumstance may not have been contemplated to emerge in the future.”

“Therefore, in the backdrop of this unprecedented situation, contention relating to health of inmate/accused Sukesh Chandrashekhar has to be interpreted under the umbrella of the general principle that careful attention is not only to be given for treatment to sick people but also to matters connected with the health prisoner,” the court said.

Advocate Anant Malik, counsel for the accused had submitted that the central cooling system at his cell was switched off on purpose.

It was reported that the entire centralized cooling system at Mandoli Jail complex is under repair/replacement and the matter has already been reported to the concerned department i.e. PWD and an estimate has also been given by PWD.

Counsel for the accused said that due to unprecedented heat, he is facing extreme situation and has developed certain skin problems in the form of rashes and his BP is also on the lower side.

However, it was also reported on behalf of Jail Authorities that there is no provision for a separate cooler.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)