How long will the accused be kept in solitary confinement ? : Bombay HC questions Nashik jail administration

German Bakery bomb blast accused Himayat Baig has been in solitary confinement since last 12 years

Mumbai High Court

Mumbai – Himayat Baig, the accused in ‘2010 German Bakery bomb blast case’ in Pune, is serving a life sentence. The Bombay High Court has asked the Nashik Jail administration about the duration of his solitary confinement. Baig had filed a petition seeking transfer from ‘anda cell’, and the Court posed this question during the hearing of his petition. In prison terminology, an egg-shaped cell, also known as ‘ anda cell”, is a highly secure area where dangerous terrorists and gangsters are kept in isolation without contact with other inmates.

1. Himayat Baig has been in solitary confinement for the last 12 years. A bench of Justice Revathi Mohite Dere and Justice Shyam Chandak questioned the Nashik Jail administration about the duration of his confinement and whether he could be moved to a high-security cell instead. The Court has directed the jail administration to seek instructions from the Inspector General of prisons.

2. Baig’s current cell lacks light and air, and he is not even taken out for meals, isolating him from other detainees. The Court emphasised that indefinite isolation is not permissible and has ordered the jail administration to clarify if Baig will be moved to another high-security cell.