SC dismisses Sukesh Chandrasekhar's plea to be shifted from Mandoli jail

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea filed by alleged conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar and his wife seeking a direction to authorities to shift them from Mandoli jail to a prison outside Delhi over security concerns, saying the writ petition was ''without substance'' and there was ''no justification to grant indulgence'' to the petitioners. Chandrasekhar and his wife Leena Paulose had sought transfer to a prison outside the national capital over alleged threat from jail officials and the city's ruling dispensation.

A bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Bela M Trivedi noted that all precautionary measures have been taken to ensure their safety and security. Chandrasekhar, the court said, has been lodged in a separate cell with CCTV surveillance in order to segregate him from other prisoners.

''After we have heard counsel for the parties and taking into consideration the affidavit filed by the Superintendent, Mandoli Jail, of which reference has been made by this Court, we do not find any justification to grant indulgence to the petitioners in what has been prayed for in the instant petition.

''Consequently, the writ petition is without substance and is, accordingly, dismissed. In the light of the present order, same procedure shall be followed in case of Petitioner No.2 – Leena Paulose,'' the bench said.

Additional Solicitor General S V Raju submitted that the mechanism which has been adopted by the jail authorities shall remain the same whether he is confined to Central Jail No. 13 or 11 or shifted to any other jail within Mandoli, which is the normal procedure followed by the jail authorities.

The top court was hearing a plea filed by the couple seeking direction from the court to be shifted to a prison outside Delhi, claiming he is being harassed and threatened by jail officials and the city's ruling political dispensation after he made certain allegations against them.

Chandrasekhar had accused former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain, who is incarcerated in connection with a money laundering case, of extorting Rs 10 crore ''protection money'' from him. He had also claimed to have contributed about Rs 50 crore to the city's ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Chandrasekhar was earlier transferred from Tihar jail to Mandoli Jail after he approached the court claiming threat to his life.

Chandrasekhar and his wife are lodged in jail on charges of alleged money laundering and cheating several people.