New Delhi: Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta wrote to Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Friday flagging a “serious security lapse” after Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik, serving life term in Tihar jail, was brought to the Supreme Court for attending a case proceeding.
“It is my firm view that this is a serious security lapse. A person with terrorist and secessionist background like Yasin Malik who is not only a convict in a terror funding case but has known connections with terror organisations in Pakistan could have escaped, could have been forcibly taken away or could have been killed,” Mehta wrote.
He said that even the security of the Supreme Court would have been put to a serious risk if any untoward incident were to happen.
Mehta highlighted that there is an order passed by the Ministry of Home Affairs with regard to Malik under section 268 of the Criminal Code of Procedure which prevents the jail authorities from bringing the said convict out of the jail premises for security reasons.
“In any view of the matter so long as the order under section 268 of CrP Code subsists, jail authorities had no power to bring him out of jail premises nor did they have any reason to do so,” he said, adding, “I consider this to be a matter serious enough to once again bring it to your personal notice so that suitable action/steps can be taken at your end.”
Meanwhile, the Delhi Prisons Department said there was “prima facie lapse” on the part of some officials and ordered an inquiry.
Deputy Inspector General (Prisons-Headquarters) Rajiv Singh will conduct the inquiry to find out the lapse and fix the responsibility of erring officials and submit a report to the Director General (Prisons) within three days, according to an official statement.
In a statement, the Delhi Prisons Department said, “On Friday, Yasin Malik was produced physically in the Supreme Court by the officials of Central Jail number 7. Prima facie, the lapse was observed on the part of concerned jail officials.
“The Director General (Prisons) has ordered a detailed inquiry in the matter to be conducted by Deputy Inspector General (Headquarters) (Prisons) Rajiv Singh to find out the lapse and fix the responsibility of erring officials. The report will be submitted within three days to DG Prisons,” it added.
