SC tells Sukesh to list detailed payments made on his behalf

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed alleged ‘conman’ Sukesh Chandrashekhar, who has claimed that Rs 12.5 crore was extorted from him by some officials at the Tihar Jail here, to submit the list of persons and details about the payments made on his behalf.

The apex court, which was hearing a plea of Chandrashekhar and his wife seeking to shift them from the Tihar Jail on the ground of an alleged threat to their lives, questioned him as to who made the payment on his behalf and said it would go into the “root of the matter”.

A bench headed by Justice UU Lalit observed that it would be necessary to understand the identity of those who made the payments on his behalf in order to come to a conclusion as to whether Chandrashekhar was subjected to alleged extortion or whether, as asserted by the authority, he was running a crime syndicate from inside the jail. “We, therefore, call upon the petitioner to submit the list of persons giving all details as to the payments made by any or every one of them and to whom the payments were made. Let all the details be filed before the next date of hearing,” the bench, also comprising Justices SR Bhat and Sudhanshu Dhulia, said.

Senior advocate R Basant, appearing for Chandrashekhar, told the top court that the petitioner was subjected to threats, intimidation, and money was extorted from him in Tihar Jail where he is lodged.

The bench, which posted the matter for hearing on July 26, observed that the affidavit filed by the authority claimed that Chandrashekhar was allegedly running a crime syndicate and was paying money for getting adequate facility to use a mobile phone.