Satyendar Jain urges court to restrain media from running footage from inside jail

NEW DELHI, (PTI): Delhi minister Satyendar Jain, in the eye of a political storm over leaked videos showing him getting special treatment in jail, on Wednesday urged a court here to restrain media from running any video footage from inside his prison cell.

Special Judge Vikas Dhull issued a notice to Tihar Jail authorities on Jain’s plea and directed the prison officials to file their reply by Thursday when the court will hear the matter.

Jain told the court that despite Tuesday’s hearing on the leak of videos of him from jail, another clipping was leaked Wednesday morning.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had affirmed before the court on Tuesday it had no role in leaking the videos of Jain, including the one where he was seen receiving massage by a fellow prisoner, who is an accused in a rape case, inside his prison cell.

Fresh videos of the jailed minister emerged again on Wednesday where he is seen eating uncooked vegetables and fruits in his Tihar jail cell.

The videos surfaced days after he moved a city court alleging he is not being provided raw food according to his religious beliefs.

”They have taken a particular day and particular time and shown some major thing is going on in jail. Please test everything. We are not running away. Today one release, tomorrow another release,” Senior Advocate Rahul Mehra, appearing for Jain, told the court.

The court had earlier ordered the ED and Jain’s legal team not to leak any content of affidavits and video in this regard and had taken their undertakings in the matter.

The court had, however, refused to put any restriction on or pass any direction to the media.

The court is also scheduled to take up on Monday another application moved by Jain seeking contempt proceedings against the ED for allegedly leaking the video footage to the media.

Prior to moving the application, Mehra on Wednesday orally urged the court to direct media not to broadcast any video from Jain’s prison cell.

The court, however, said that no application was moved before the court making such prayers.

The defence counsel, thereafter, filed the application seeking restrain on media and for an inquiry into the matter.

The court was hearing Jain’s plea seeking direction to the jail authorities to provide him food as per his religious beliefs.

The defence counsel told the court that Jain has lost 28 kg weight in judicial custody and that he had protein deficiency.

“While his earlier weight was 103 kgs, now it is around 75 kgs,” the counsel said.

The court, then pointed out that since the politician was observing fast as per his religious beliefs, weight loss was natural.

The counsel appearing for Tihar told the court that allegations against the jail administration were without any basis and sought three more days to file a detailed reply, including the dietician’s report and the food being given to the accused.

The court directed the jail administration to file the detailed report by Monday.

The court had on Tuesday issued notice to Jail authorities on Jain’s application, which claimed that Jain was ”a strict adherent of Jainism”, but he was not being provided basic food that is partaken under his religion and medical facilities inside the prison.

The ED had, during a bail hearing earlier, accused Jain of getting special treatment inside the jail.

A Tihar jail superintendent was also suspended for alleged involvement in providing special treatment to Jain in the prison.

The court had on November 17 denied bail to Jain and two others in the case.

The federal anti-money laundering agency had arrested Jain in a case based on a CBI FIR lodged against him in 2017 under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Jain is accused of having laundered money through four companies allegedly linked to him. (PTI)