New Delhi: Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued contempt notices to the Delhi Police commissioner and the Tihar Jail authorities in a case involving the death of an undertrial in judicial custody on Feb 10.Asham Sayed died while receiving treatment at RML Hospital after being shifted from Tihar Jail, even as his family alleged negligence and delay in getting proper treatment despite a high court order on the same day.“Considering the circumstances of the case, and in particular, the fact that the petitioner admittedly died while in judicial custody, having been admitted to hospital by the jail authorities, all authorities concerned are directed to forthwith provide all requisite approvals, permissions and all necessary documents, to ensure that the petitioner’s postmortem is conducted expeditiously,” Justice Anup J Bhambhani ordered, after it emerged that Sayed’s postmortem could not be conducted as the hospital had sought documents from the jail authorities.In a swift intervention, HC also ordered the medical superintendent of RML Hospital “to seize and seal all medical records and documents relating to the petitioner’s admission and treatment at that hospital, including the CCTV footage relating to the petitioner’s admission and his stay at the hospital, and forward the same under sealed cover to the registry of this court within three days”.The court further directed the medical superintendent to submit a copy of the postmortem report and ordered the jail superintendent to make available all medical records to Sayed’s wife.The court was hearing a contempt plea moved by Sayed’s wife. Issuing notice to all respondents, including the police chief, the investigating officer, the DIG and the superintendent, Tihar Jail, Justice Bhambhani said, “Let reply/counter-affidavit be filed by all respondents individually within one week.”Appearing for the petitioner, advocate Naushad Ahmed sought initiation of contempt proceedings against police and the jail authorities, alleging wilful breach and disobedience of HC’s Feb 9 order.Ahmed submitted that the court permitted the undertrial’s family to meet him and attend upon him at RML Hospital. It also directed that the family must be permitted to meet the attending doctors to provide all assistance in relation to the petitioner’s precarious medical condition. The plea said the order copy was received around 7pm and was immediately served upon the prison and police.Despite the directions, Sayed’s family was only permitted a videographed meeting of about five minutes as he struggled in pain and they were asked to follow the regular jail mulakat procedures. “It is submitted that the treating doctors advised that the petitioner needed immediate surgical intervention, which required the consent of the petitioner’s family; however, the family members were not permitted access to the attending doctors either,” the plea alleged, saying that due to lack of access, doctors could not conduct surgery in time and Sayed passed away around 3am on Feb 10.With the doctors at RML Hospital declining to conduct the postmortem in the absence of requisite documents and approvals, including MLC and certain other papers, the wife had no option but to move court, it said. The next hearing is on Feb 24.
