::JAMMU AND KASHMIR HIGH COURT BAR ASSOCIATION,SRINAGAR.

Report of the team of members who visited Tihar Jail from 27.01.2009 to 30.01.2009

Pursuant to the orders dated 05.11.2009 passed by the Hon’ble High Court in CMP No. 1623/08 filed in OWP No. 767/06 titled J&K High court Bar Association V/s State and others a team of lawyers, which comprised of the following:

Went to New Delhi on 27.01.2009 to meet the detenues/under trial prisoners of J&K lodged in various jails of Delhi.

It was on 28.01.2009 that they first of all approached the Director General (Prisons) Central Jail, PHQ, Tihar, New Delhi to facilitate their meeting with the Kashmiri detenues/undertrial prisoners lodged in Delhi jails and require legal aid and assistance. After examining the court order dated 05.11.2008 and other factors relevant or irrelevant for grant of permission, we were finally at about 4 p.m. on 28.01.2009, informed by Mr. Sunil Kumar, Law Officer Prisons Delhi that we can visit Delhi jails as per Hon’ble High Court order. On 28.01.2009 itself, we went to jail no. 1 and after meeting the superintendant of the jail, we were permitted to meet the Kashmiri detenue and undertrial prisoners lodged in the said jail. What we observed in the jail no. 1 is as under:-

In Jail no. 1, there are 10 wards and on 28.01.2009, the number of Prisoners in different wards of jail no. 1 was as follows:

Out of these 1456, the undertrials were 1286, convicts 164 and DT 6. We were told that there are 17 Kashmiris in jail no. 1, besides a number of other Pakistanis. On our asking the Kashmir prisoners were produced before us. During our interaction with them, what was stated to us by them deserves to be mentioned.

Told us that I was sentenced to 27 years imprisonment by a Delhi court in 2002. I appealed to Supreme Court against that judgment which was pleased to reduce my sentence to 20 years. I am ailing. I have backache and high Blood pressure. I have no one at my home. I want to serve my sentence of imprisonment at central jail Srinagar, so that I can remain in touch with my family.

Stated that I was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by a Delhi court. I have filed an appeal agasint the said decision before the High court which heard arguments in the case some 4 ½ months back but the judgement has not been announced as yet. I have already spent seven years in the jail. My lawyer is Kamni Jaswal, Advocate.

Stated that I am here for the last six years. My case is pending in court no. 337 of Tis Hazari courts. The case is at final stage. Choudhri Shamas-ud-din, Advocate is my counsel. Case is under POTA

Stated that I am in jail for the last 13 years. My case is at final stage. Besides me, Mirza Iftikhar, Mirza Nissar, Javaid Ahmad Khan, Naushad, Fareeda, Ali Mohammad Bhat, Farooq Ahmad, Abdul Gani and Mohammad Maqbool are the other accused in the case. My counsel is R. A. Tufail and the other accused are represented by Aman Lekhi and Khalil Ansari Advocates. There was one more case against us in Gujrat, in which we have been acquitted. A case in Jaipur is still pending trial against us but we are not being produced in that court.

Both brothers stated that we were arrested two years back at Nizam-ud-din Railway Station. We were booked in a fictitious case and a challan was later produced against us in a court. At present our case is going on in court no. 209 of Tis Hazari courts. There are 15 witnesses in the case, out of whom 9 witnesses have been examined by the court. Our father has already achieved martyrdom and we have no one to look after our family. The court has engaged a counsel for us as amicus. His name is Riyaz Mohammad. We have no money to pay to a counsel, if we want to engage the one privately.

Stated that he is in Tihar Jail for the last more than two years and my case is going on in court no. 210 of Tis Hazari courts. My lawyer is Bharat Bushan and B. S. Baloria.

Stated that he is in Tihar Jail for the last more than 1 ½ years and my case is pending in court no. 336 of Tis Hazari courts.

Stated that they are in jail for the last more than 2 years and our case is pending in court no. 222 of Tis Hazari courts.

Stated that my case is pending in court no. 336 of Tis Hazari courts and prosecution witnesses are being examined by the court. I had filed a transfer application for the transfer of the case from Tis Hazari to any other court outside Delhi before the Supreme Court because of the biased attitude of the Prosecution and the Judge but that application was disallowed by the Apex court.

Stated that I am in Tihar Jail from 28.05.2005. I have been booked in two cases. In one case, which is pending in court no. 222 of Tis Hazari courts, evidence is being produced by the prosecution. In other case, which is also pending in the court no. 209 of Tis Hazari courts, charge has been framed and I have challenged the order of framing charge in Delhi High court, which is pending.

Stated that he has an extreme and prolonged coughing and constipation. He said that I had got my X-Ray done but the same was misplaced by the medical staff of the jail. No repeat X-Ray was thereafter done to investigate my problem. He said that he had complained about the same to senior Medical Officer (SMO) but no action was taken by him. He said that my condition is worsening day by day. He also complained of torture, cruelty and intimidation by prisoners of other states which get worsened on hearing some terror related incident. He also said that there are a number of “Blade Baz” groups in the jail who have the patronage of jail authorities and they are harassing us. They have several times attacked us and injured a number of us. He said that my case is going on in court no. 132 of Tis Hazari courts. He said that a witness was returned back four times by the Judge only because he wanted to depose that he has no knowledge of the occurrence. The Judge told the witness that he will record his statement only when he will depose what is reflected in his statement recorded by the police. The witness is now afraid of coming to the court because he has started fearing for his life. He said that he has no hope of fair trial in his case.

Obaidullah Baba S/o Abdul Ahad Baba R/o Bilal Colony Soura stated that his case is going on in a Tis Hazari court and for the last eight months, there has been no progress in the case because no witness has turned up. He wants speedy trial of his case and thinks that in ordinate delay will be a very costly affair for him.
Arshad Khan S/o Ahmad Hassan Khan R/o Multan Pakistan said that there are two cases bearing FIR nos. 252/01 and 13/02 which are going on against me in Delhi. There are four more cases pending against me in Calcutta wherein charges have been framed but the proceedings are stayed due to an order of the Sessions court providing that till Delhi cases are over no proceedings should be conducted in those cases. He said that I am here for the last seven years.

Besides the aforesaid persons the team also met Mohammad Husain Fazli and as it was about 7.30 p.m. the team members were asked to wind up the meeting and to leave the jail premises. Accordingly we left the jail.

On 29.01.2009, the team members reached Tihar Jail at about 11 a.m. They first of all visited jail no. 2 and what was observed is stated as under:

In jail no. 2 there were 1008 prisoners on 29.01.209 with the following break up.

We were told by Mr. B. S. Bathira Dy. Suptt. (Deodi) that there are only two Kashmiris in the jail and he directed that both be brought before us:

Mohammad Akbar S/o Zorawar Bhat R/o Doda stated that he was arrested on 31.08.1999 from Daryagunj and later booked in a case along with one Shahnawaz. The case was tried by a Judge in Patiala house and whereas Shahnawaz was acquitted, he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in July 2003. He filed appeal in High court but the appeal was dismissed. He has now filed Cr. Appeal No. 815/2007 in the Supreme Court, which is pending. His lawyer is Kamni Jaswal. He said that in the Jail they are a given a cup of tea with two bread pieces in the morning at about 6.30. At about 9.30 or 10. 00 A.M. we are served lunch, which is comprised of 400 Gms. of rice or 6 Chapatis with a teaspoonful of Dal or vegetable. We are again given a cup of tea at 4 P.M. with two bread pieces and dinner at 7 P. M. which is of the same quantity as of lunch. He said that if we want some more Chapatis or rice then for each chapatti, we have to pay Rs. 6/- and for one teaspoon full of vegetable Rs. 15/-. He said that I have been kept in a cell with 5 more persons. He said that I have problem in my eyes and as there is no medical treatment available in jail, my eyesight is weakening day by day. He said that I am giving lessons to the prisoners on computer know how and whatever little I can earn from that, I spend the same on myself.
Showkat Guroo

Stated that I have spent more than seven years in jail and as I have been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment I have to undergo 3 years more sentence. While we were talking to Showkat Guroo a Pakistani namely

Khalid Mohmood S/o Mohammad Yousuf R/o House No. 32 Gali No. 7 Teli Bar Lahore was also brought there. When we interacted with him, he found that he and one Amjad Ali were arrested in 1994 and later booked in FIR No. 30/94 of Police Station Town Hall. A challan was filed against them in a Designated court at Delhi which convicted and sentenced them vide order dated 25.09.1996 for life and fine. He also showed us a copy of judgment dated 24.09.1996 and 25.09.1996 where under he and Amjad Ali have been sentenced to life imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 1 lakh each u/s 3(1) 3(3) of TADA; life imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 50,000/- each u/s 5 of TADA; life imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 1 lakh each u/s 3(5) of TADA and on their failure to pay the fine they have to undergo further imprisonment of 3 years, 1 ½ years and 3 years respectively. He said that we had challenged the order before the Supreme Court but our criminal appeal no. 1992 of 1996 was dismissed on 28.01.1998.

He also showed a paper cutting of Kashmir times, dated 02.06.2000 which indicated that a court in Delhi had sentenced two Bangladeshis and a Pakistan to five years of rigorous imprisonment after finding them guilty of entering India without a valid passport and visa. The paper cutting also revealed that Mahfooz Ali, who had been instrument in getting Khalid and Amjad arrested was found guilty under Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (prevention) Act and sentenced to a 6 years imprisonment by the said court besides a fine of Rs. 1000/-. He said Mahfooz Ali is the same person at whose instance they were arrested by operation cell of Delhi Police in March 1994. He said that no Pakistani Official has ever come to see him in Tihar or elsewhere. He wants that his case should again be agitated in the Supreme Court so that the fine part of the sentence at least gets washed off.

In jail no. 3, on 29.01.2009 there were 1510 prisoners, with the following break up.

From 1510, 1340 are undertrials. Kashmiris, who were brought before us deposed as under:

Who is lodged in ward no. 5 of jail no. 3 stated that his case is going on in court no. 353 at Tis Hazari courts and for the last four years, no witness has been examined in the case. He said that in the case (FIR no. 149/05 u/s 17/18 UL Activities Act) we are five accused. Tariq Ahmad Dar, Mohammad Rafiq Shah, Mohammad Hussain Fazli and Gh. Ahmad Khan are the other accused. He said that in three other cases pertaining to Sarojini Nagar, Pahargunj and Govindpore, there are only three accused viz Tariq, Rafiq and Muhammad Hussain and while as witnesses are being produced in those cases regularly. No witness has been produced in my case so far. He said that all the cases are pending in our court and the Judge of the court is so biased that he doesn’t listen to anything. He said that in the Jail also the Kashmiris are teased by the jail staff. He said that one Nirmal Singh who is Dy. SP (interior) has made their life miserable because firstly we are Kashmiris and secondly Muslims. He doesn’t allow us to meet the superintendent of the jail as well, to highlight our problems.

Who is lodged in ward no. 6 of jail no. 3 stated that the prosecution evidence in his case is over and we have been asked to produce our defence evidence. He said that our lawyer is B. S. Baloria and Bharat Bushan. B. S. Baloria, after taking huge amount from us is not now coming to the court. He said that Bharat Bushan is a good lawyer but he has to be paid by us, which we are not in a position to do. He said that Mohammad Ahsan Untoo is also an accused in the case.

Gh. Hassan War S/o Mohammad Ramzan War
Ishaq Reshi S/o Gh. Hassan both residents of Syedpora, Sopore stated that their cases are also pending in the court and that after 26/11 the behavior of Judges has become very rude with us. They neither entertain any application nor they direct the Jail authorities to segregate us from other communal elements which we have been requested and the court repeatedly. He said that earlier we used to be permitted to talk to our family on phone but that facility has also been now withdrawn from us. They also complained about Nirmal Singh and said that he is very communal.
Abdul Majid Baba S/o Abdul Ahad Baba R/o Maraypora, Sopore who is in ward no. 5 of jail no. 3 said that he is in jail for the last two years. His father has died. He has a Medical problem. His case is going on in court no. 222. Ms. Madhu Jain is the Judge. She is very inimical towards us. She says that Bombay massacre has been engineered by us and that we should be ashamed of it. He said that for the last eight months, no prosecution witness has been examined by the court. So far only five witnesses have been examined. One witness has died. He said that we are given food by jail authorities and it is so bad that for the last two days we have not eaten anything. He said that when we go to fetch water for drinking purposes from a tap inside the jail, we are rebuked by other prisoners. He said that no one has come to meet him for the last 8 months. He said that they were not permitted to celebrate Idd-ul-Fitter by the jail staff because on the Idd day itself they shifted us from jail no. 1 to jail no. 7. Again on 09 th December, 2008 we were shifted from jail no. 7 to jail no. 3 and as it takes one full day in going from one jail to another, we could not offer our Idd prayers. He said that shifting was ordered only to prevent us from offering Idd prayers. He said that the relatives of other prisoners are allowed to go inside the jail on festival days but that is not so with us. He complained of discrimination and ill treatment from jail authorities. He said that my lawyer is B. S. Baloria but after taking huge money from me, he is not now coming to the court. He is sending Bharat Bushan on his behalf and even though he is a good lawyer but he asks for money, which I am not in a position to pay.
Bashir Ahmad Panoo S/o Abdul Gani Panoo R/o Maharajpora Sopore who is lodged in ward no. 5 of jail no. 3 stated that I was arrested 2 years back and I have been booked alongwith Abdul Majid Baba and a Pakistani Shahid Gafoor in the case. I was selling fruit on a cart-wheel at Bus stand Sopore. After my arrest, my father is now doing that job to feed the family. I have two kids’, one son and a daughter. We are treated like animals in the jail. The senior Medical officer refuses to treat us. We had requested the jail authorities to keep all Kashmiris in one ward but they have refused to do so. They don’t allow us to meet the superintendent of the jail as well.
Mirza Iftikhar Hussain S/o Mirza Ali Mohammad R/o Srinagar.
Mirza Nissar Hussain S/o Mirza Ali Mohammad R/o Srinagar.

Stated that they are brothers and for the last 13 years they are in the jail they said that there was a case against them in Ahmadabad in which they have been acquitted. There is another case pending against us in Jaipur but they are not being produced in the court over there. They said that in the case which is going on against them in Delhi, the other accused persons are Javaid Ahmad Khan, Engineer Farooq Ahmad, Abdul Gani, Mohammad Maqbool, Latief Ahmad, Ali Mohammad Bhat, Fareeda Bahanji, Mohammad Noushad of Delhi and Riyaz Ahmad (now dead). Mirza Iftikhar said that a number of Kashmiri prisoners had submitted a written representation to the superintendent of jail no. 1 on 18.03.2008 stating therein that they should be provided safety and security from dreaded criminal Satinder Pal Singh and notorious Blade Baz Mohammad Sheru and some jail officials of pro office, besides Head Warden Abdul Razak Khan. The superintendent heard them and assured action. However, some days thereafter when some inmates were coming back from “Mulakat”, the head warden of ward no. 6 of jail no. 1 namely Abdul Razak Khan, opened the Blade Baz Mohammad Sheru and handed over an iron rod to him and made him to stand at the main gate which is not usual. Once the inmates came back and entered the main gate he assaulted the inmates with iron rod. The inmates however, succeeded in saving themselves with the help of T.S.P. guards. The iron rod was recovered but no action was taken against Sheru. Though it was ordered that he should be kept under double lock but the head warden did not implement the order. Mirza Iftikhar stated that on 15.04.2008 when the inmates of ward no. 6 were on “mulakat” a well knit conspiracy was hatched to kill him and in order to achieve this objective, firstly his brother was not allowed to go for mulakat with him, which was a usual practice because he and me had to meet one and the same person(s) and secondly when he came back from mulakat notorious Blade Baz Sheru was ready with his blade in Deodi to kill him. When I was being searched the blade baz came running from the open gate and cute my face and chest with the blade and ran back to the main gate to take shelter behind Satinder Pal Singh. This attack was supervised by Mr. Prakash Dy. Superintendent, Abdul Razak Khan Head Warden. He stated that he lodged a report in Hari Nagar P/S against Satinder Singh and Mohammad Sheru. The police thereafter filed a charge sheet in the court but till date no evidence has been recorded by the court therein. On the other hand after about eight months, a counter case u/s 308 IPC has been registered against me under FIR No. 302/08, in which it has been alleged that I threw paper weight on his head though on first day no such allegation was levelled by anyone against me. This all has also come in the press. We were thereafter shifted to jail no. 3. Here also one blade baz was kept naked in a cell, who used to rebuke us. There was scuffle with him on one day on this score, which resulted in the stoppage of meals to us. We were also not allowed any “mulakat” for 45 days. Rice was also stopped and till date no rice is given to us either at lunch or at dinner. If we want to purchase anything from canteen that is also given to us on exorbitant rates. We are not also given medical treatment. We had complained to Senior Medical officer but for that act of ours, we were not allowed any mulakat for 15 days. We are taken to the court in a separate vehicle but our wards have not been changed. One or other blade baz always remains present with us in the wards, where we are kept. Mirza Iftikhar also gave us copies of the FIR’s and copy of the joint applications submitted by the inmates to the Director General of prisons Tihar Complex New Delhi for appropriate action. He also gave us a copy of the report submitted to the court of Additional Session Judge, M-2 Patiala house court, New Delhi by Superintendent Central jail no. 1, Tihar New Delhi, which fully supports his version.

Mohammad Iqbal Jan S/o Mohammad Yousuf R/o Sonawari who is in ward no. 6 of jail no. 3 and who contested assembly elections during November – December 2008, from Sonawari/Bandipora constituency stated that no witness has appeared in his case during last 3 months.
Imran Ahmad Kirmani S/o Gh. Rasool Kirmani R/o Neelipora Magam Handwara who is in ward no. 5 of jail no. 3 stated that the Dy. Superintendent Nirmal Singh and Chaker Chief Jai Bagwan are very cruel fellows. They are spreading communal hatred against the Muslim Kashmiri prisoners. He said that there was a particular place in jail no. 3 where Muslim inmates of the jail were offering their prayers. He stopped us from offering our prayers over there. He said that Pakistani prisoners, used to receive parcels from their home people but now jail authorities are not accepting their parcels which go back to the home people of these prisoners resulting in their getting more worried about their kith and kin. We also met Tariq Ahmad Dar and Mohammad Ahsan Untoo in jail no. 3 and had a detailed discourse with them about their cases. Before leaving jail no. 3 we also met the jail Superintendent and brought to his notice the grievances of Kashmiri prisoners lodged in his jail. We told him that he should keep all the Kashmiri prisoners in one ward of jail no. 3 and besides allowing them to cook their own meals; he should also ensure giving them proper medical treatment. He assured us of all possible help. We also told him that we had also asked for a meeting with Mohammad Afzal Guroo but the Dy. Superintendent has not allowed the said meeting. He said that we should approach the D.G. Prisons and if he allows us to meet him, then only the meeting would be possible. Since filing an application and obtaining orders thereon from D.G. Prisons was a cumbersome process and it was bound to cause further complicacy to the relatives of Mohammad Afzal Guroo in meeting him in future, we therefore decided not to file such an application with DG Prisons. We however, met Mohammad Afzal Guroo on the same day when he was going to his cell after receiving some medical treatment. He was well dressed and quite composed. We had promised to see him again but as we were not permitted to meet him, we could not therefore keep our promise.

After leaving jail no. 3 we went to jail no. 4. In this jail there are about 1922 prisoners out of whom only 5 are Kashmiris. The break of the prisoners in this jail is as under:

Stated that he is involved in Lajpat Nagar case. The case is at argument stage. It was argued 2 years back before SP Garg. After he heard the case for 8 days, he was transferred and n his place S. K. Savaria became the Judge. The case was argued before him also. He was also changed and Mr. Nagpal took over the charge. He has not however heard the arguments as yet. There is another case against him in Sessions Court Dossa, Jaipur Rajasthan where he and other accused are not being produced for trial. Another case was in Ahmadabad, in which he, Latief, Javaid, Farooq, Mirza Nissar, Mirza Iftikhar were also accused. We have however been acquitted in the said case. He stated that he has acute snoring and respiratory problem called sleep Apnea and he has been advised surgery but he is not given any medical treatment. An application was filed by the Bar before Dy. Superintendent P. Thomas, for the purpose and he promised swift action.

Stated that he is detained in jail from 28.08.2002 and he is facing trial in a case registered under POTA alongwith other 4 co-accused in court no. 339 of Tis Hazari courts. The other accused in the case are Parvaiz Ahmad Mir and Noor Mohammad and two other from U.P. In the case there are 52 witnesses out of whom 39 have been examined. The bail application of the accused has been rejected by the court several times. He is lodged in High Security solitary cell as is the case, with other Kashmiris.

Stated that he is booked in FIR No. 18/02 under POTA alongwith another accused. The case is tried by a court in Delhi and he alongwith other accused have been sentenced for 10 years. Appeal against conviction is however pending in Delhi High court. The counsel is Kamni Jaswal. He is at present suffering of loss of memory which is a chronic mental disorder and is known as Dementia.

Stated that he was arrested in 2003. He was booked in a case by Police and after a prolonged trial the case was argued and is awaiting judgment. He stated that my counsel is Tapan Kumar Mahapatra.

Stated that I was arrested in July, 2002. I was booked in a case by Police alongwith Gh. Mohammad Dar and three Pakistanis. The three Pakistanis pleaded guilty and they were convicted and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. He stated that my case is however under trial. He said I have not engaged any lawyer because I have no money to pay to him.

When we came out of jail no. 4 it was 6.00 p.m. we therefore decided to visit Tihar Jail again on 30.01.2009. On 30.01.2009 we first of all went to District Jail Rohini. After obtaining necessary permission we first of all met A. K. Khanna, the jail Superintendent. He told us that there are only three Kashmiris in Rohini jail. We requested him to get those three prisoners. He accordingly sent for them and within half an hour all the three were before us.

District jail Rohini is a new jail, located at a distance of about 4/5 miles from Tihar Jail. On 30.01.2009 there were 1721 prisoners in different wards of the said jail, the break up whereof is as under :

Out of these 1721 prisoners, 137 are convicts which include 40 lifers also and the rest are under trial prisoners, in which 5 foreigners are also included. The three prisoners of Kashmir lodged in this jail are

Farooq Ahmad and Abdul Gani said that they were booked in FIR no. 39/96 of Gandhi Nagar along with Latief Ahmad and Javiad Khan lodged in Tihar Jail and all of them were discharged in the said case in 1998. They said that they have also been booked in FIR No. 18/96 of P/s Mahwa Dossa alongiwth Latief Ahmad, Mirza Nissar, Javaid Ahmad and Mahmood Ali who are all lodged in Tihar Jail. Challan of the case was filed in the court a long time back but they were last taken to the said court only on 09.07.1999 and returned back on 13.05.2000 and since then they have not been taken again over there. During those ten months also nothing was done by the court.

They said that they along with 9 more persons, have been booked in FIR NO. 517/1996 which also includes Mohammad Maqbool, the one lodged with them in Rohini jail. They said in this case there were 280 prosecution witnesses out of whom 102 witnesses were examined by the prosecution and rest were given up. They said that arguments are going on in this case.

Farooq Ahmad said that he, Fareeda Bahanji and three Sikhs had also been booked in FIR No. 817/95 of P/s Connaught place and they were acquitted in this case in 200/4. He said that Abdul Gani, Latief Ahmad and Javaid Ahmad, were also accused persons in FIR No. 12/96 of DCP Shahi Bagh Ahmadabad. They also stated that in FIR No. 148/98 of P/s Mahwa Dosa the trial is going on against their co-accused as per the orders of Supreme Court and the trial against them when the trial in Delhi will end. From the body language of these prisoners it appeared that they are well versed with their case and they are satisfied with their counsel R Tufail. They had every praise for him. They also said that Mohammad Maqbool has been falsely implicated in the case and also there is no one at his back to look after his family. Some steps should be taken to provide necessary sustenance to him. After meeting the aforesaid three prisoners the team went for Friday prayers and after finishing the same they rushed to jail no. 7 of Tihar Jail

In jail no. 7 there were 669 prisoners on 30.01.2009 out of whom 68 were convicts which also included 6 lifers. We were told that in every ward of the jail there are several blocks and in each block there are several barracks and in one block there are 135 to 140 prisoners. We were told that in ward no. 3 there are 9 blocks, with 4 barracks each. We were told that there are 6 Kashmiris in jail no. 7. On our asking all the six prisoners were brought before us.

Bashir Ahmad Shah S/o Gh. Mohammad Shah R/o Nagabal Tral stated that he was arrested in 2005 and a case is going on against him in the court. He said that our case is at best covered by Arms Act but we have been charged under Explosive Substance Act. Though nothing was recovered from us but still the alleged recovery cannot come within the definition of explosive substance as defined in the Act. He said that according to police a hand grenade, 35 rounds + 12 rounds and a pistol was recovered from us but none of these articles can come under the definition of Explosive Substance as defined in Explosive Substance Act. He said that these articles fall within the definition of Arms and ammunition, as per the Arms Act and as they have been in jail for more than three years now, therefore, even if they are convicted and given maximum sentence, they having served the same they are entitled to be set free. However, the Judge hearing the case is unnecessarily protracting the disposal of my case on the ground that I have been charged under Explosive substance Act. He said that he needs money for engaging a lawyer of the High court or Supreme Court who will contest his case. He said that he had engaged B. S. Baloria, Advocate but after taking huge fees from him he is not now attending his case.
Nazir Ahmad Sofi S/o Mohammad Jabbar Sofi R/o Dar Manzil Barzulla

Stated that my case is going on in a Dwarka court and the prosecution is leading its evidence. He said that I had also engaged B. S. Baloria, Advocate and had paid heavy fees to him but he is not now attending his case. He also wants to change his lawyer but for that he needs money. He said that his family has not been able to see him in Tihar Jail for the last three years because they have no money.

Both stated that their cases are also going on in the courts and evidence is being recorded therein. They also stated that they had engaged B. S. Baloria as their counsel but he is not attending their cases now.

After meeting the aforesaid persons, the team went to jail no. 8 & 9 where one Kashmiri namely:

There are two more wards viz ward no. 5&6 but while as in ward no. 5 there are children, in ward no. 6 there are only women. We therefore concluded our visit of Tihar jail on 30.01.2009 at about 5.00 p.m. after meeting Saqib.

After meeting the u/t prisoners of Kashmir in Tihar and Ronini jail what we found is that the treatment meted out to these prisoners by police, jail authorities and the courts is not fair. They are not only looked down upon by the jail authorities but also by the courts, police being, of course no exception to that. They had tried for the transfer of their cases from Delhi to any other place but the Supreme Court has not accepted their request. Some of the prisoners who have been convicted and sentenced to life etc. had applied for their transfer to J&K Jails in the light of Transfer of prisoners Act but their applications have not been forwarded to the appropriate authorities or if forwarded, no action has been taken by those authorities towards their transfer to J&K jails. These prisoners whose number is not more than sixty could have been easily kept in one barrack of any jail to facilitate their but jail authorities have kept them with hardened criminals and notorious gangsters, who are teasing and torturing them day in and day out. These prisoners could have been allowed to prepare their food by themselves but that too is not allowed. Food and tea is served to them in meager quantity at odd hours. If they want to purchase anything from the canteen of the jail, that is sold to them on exorbitant rates, which they cannot afford to pay. They are not also provided medical treatment and if they complain against any medical official they are penalized for days together and sometimes they are not allowed “mulakat” which oftenly matures after months together. In courts prosecution by not producing evidence, delays the disposal of their cases and when witness come the Judges don’t record their statements if they don’t support the prosecution case. The Judges also show no sympathy towards these prisoners when they are brought before them. After 26/11 they have been telling them that you are responsible for Bombay episode and you should be therefore ashamed of it. Their applications are not entertained by the courts and those are returned without any order. Cases in which arguments have been heard are not decided within the period stipulated by law and if Judge gets transferred in the meanwhile, the arguments are then to be advanced afresh which consumes a considerable period and the prisoners by making their lawyers to argue the case again, have to pay huge price for that.

There are about seventy Pakistanis also in the Tihar Jail whose cases are also pending in various courts. A few of them who met us while interacting with Kashmiri prisoners told us that there is no one to look after their cases in the courts. They have no contact with their families and even if they succeed in establishing one, they are not allowed to talk to them on telephone. They said that some of them used to receive parcels etc. from their home in which clothes etc. used to be sent to them by their home people but jail authorities are not now allowing them to receive those parcels as a result of which they don’t have now even clothes to wear. They said that some Pakistani lawyers and Judges had reportedly visited Tihar jail in the recent past but none of them tried to meet them or else to communicate with them otherwise. They are thus spending their time in Tihar jai in a very critical condition, with no sign of hope of anybody taking any interest in them or providing them any kind of help.

One Pakistani National namely Nasrullah Mansoor is in Agra jail. A lawyer from Delhi namely Moin-ud-din Ansari had gone to meet him on 14.12.2008 so that he was given some legal aid. He was not permitted to meet him and his application was returned with the remark that the permission be sought from the CID CI, J&K for seeking interview with him.