Shraddha Walkar case: Unlock Aaftab for 8 hours a day, Delhi HC to Tihar Jail

The Delhi High Court asked the Tihar Jail authorities on Friday, 15 March, to allow Aaftab Amin Poonawala, the main accused in the sensational Shraddha Walker murder case, to come out in the open for eight hours a day before lodging him in a solitary cell at night.

The order was passed by a bench headed by justice Suresh Kumar Kait on a petition filed by Poonawala, contending that under the garb of security, he cannot be kept in solitary confinement.

Poonawala's lawyer claimed that unlike other inmates who are taken out for eight hours a day, Poonawala is allowed to be out for an hour each in the morning and evening.

"Since it is the request of the petitioner's counsel, we direct the jail authorities to unlock him for eight hours, as applicable to other prisoners, and during the night, he be lodged in a solitary cell," the bench, also comprising justice Girish Kathpalia, ordered.

The counsel for the jail authorities said the accused was not kept with other inmates due to a threat perception.

He said earlier, a trial court had passed directions with respect to giving due security to Poonawala after he was attacked while being taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Rohini.

Poonawala's lawyer said his client is allowed "zero" human interaction in jail and is being kept in solitary confinement even though he has not committed any "jail offence".

Poonawala is accused of strangling his live-in partner Walkar and chopping her body into pieces in Delhi's Mehrauli on 18 May, 2022. He allegedly stuffed Walkar's body parts into a refrigerator before scattering those at multiple places in the national capital over several days to avoid detection.

The Delhi Police filed a 6,629-page chargesheet in the case on 24 January, 2023.

Subsequently, a trial court in New Delhi framed the charges of murder and disappearance of evidence against Poonawala.