The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the Central Bureau of Investigation and the state government to respond to former Rashtriya Janata Dal legislator Mohammad Shahabuddin’s plea that he had been kept in solitary confinement in Tihar jail against the law and without any court order since February 2017, PTI reported.
The plea also said Shahabuddin should be produced before the court, and sought appropriate orders to ensure his safety. Taking note of the petition, the Delhi High Court asked the CBI and the Aam Aadmi Party government to reply by April 27.
Shahabuddin is facing trial in 45 criminal cases. The Patna High Court had in August 2017 upheld Shahabuddin’s life imprisonment in an acid attack case, and the CBI is investigating his alleged role in the murder of journalist Rajdeo Ranjan.
In February 2017, the Supreme Court had ordered that he be shifted from Siwan Jail in Bihar to Tihar Jail in the national Capital. The court order was based on a plea by Ranjan’s widow and a man whose three sons had been killed in separate incidents.
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