Delhi High Court Grants 30 Days Interim Bail To Life Convict After Medical Report Confirms Fracture In Alleged Tihar Jail Assault
Tihar Jail entrance (DNA India)
The Delhi High Court has granted 30 days interim bail to a life convict, after his medical report revealed that he had suffered a fracture in his forearm, lending prima facie corroboration to his allegations that he was assaulted inside Tihar Jail by the Head Warden.
The division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Vikas Mahajan passed the direction while hearing an application moved by one Ashish alias Vicky, in his appeal against conviction in a POCSO case.
He sought bail, interim suspension of sentence and immediate medical examination.
The Appellant, who is lodged in Central Jail No. 3, Tihar, alleged that on June 26, between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m., a Head Warden physically assaulted him, causing serious injuries to his hand.
He further claimed that the warden had previously demanded illegal "protection money" and that the assault took place after he expressed his inability to meet the demand.
The Court had in its previous order had directed preservation of CCTV footage, an independent medical examination and personal appearance of the concerned Head Warden after describing the allegations as "extremely disconcerting."
In the recent hearing, the Court was informed that the Jail Superintendent had submitted a sealed cover containing the Jail Medical Officer's report, CCTV footage in a pen drive, and medical reports. The Head Warden had also filed his status report.
The Court noted that the Appellant and the two other inmates had been examined at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, which reported that the Appellant had suffered a fracture of the left ulna (forearm) and that an elbow cast had been applied.
While the Court said it would like to peruse the CCTV footage, for now it remarked that the injuries sustained by Appellant lend "some confirmation of the alleged incident". It thus held that he is entitled to interim bail and ordered his release for 30 days, subject to various conditions.
The Court also directed that the other two inmates allegedly injured in the incident be provided proper medical treatment under the supervision of doctors at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital.
Further, while directing that the CCTV footage and other documents remain in a sealed cover, the Court asked the Jail Superintendent to preserve and produce within one week the CCTV footage relating to another alleged incident involving the Appellant on June 27, as mentioned in the Head Warden's report.
The matter has been listed on September 23.
Appearance: Mr. Digant Mishra, Ms. Kashmira Lambat, Mr. Abhinav Deshwal, Ms. Zainab Siddiqui, Mr. Sahir Gahlot, Mr Dipankar Singh and Ms. Anshul Rajora, Advocate for Appellant; Mr. Ritesh Kumar Bahri, APP for State with Ms. Divya Yadav and Mr. Lalit Luthra, Advs. Mr. B. Badrinath (DSLSA) and Mr. Dhruv Bhardwaj, Advocate. Mr. Faraz Maqbool, Ms. Sahitya Veena and Ms. Ananya Luthra, Advocates for the Victim
Case title: Ashish alias Vicky v. State
Case no.: CRL.A. 1562/2025