Shraddha murder: HC grants Aaftab 8-hour ‘outdoor’ time

The Delhi High Court on Friday directed the Tihar Jail authorities to permit Aaftab Amin Poonawala, the main accused in the high-profile Shraddha Walker murder case, to spend eight hours a day outside before confining him to a solitary cell at night.
Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Girish Kathpalia issued the order in response to a petition filed by Poonawala, arguing that he shouldn’t be subjected to solitary confinement under the pretext of security concerns.

Poonawala’s lawyer asserted that unlike other inmates who enjoy eight hours of daily outdoor time, Poonawala is only allowed one hour each in the morning and evening.
“In compliance with the petitioner’s counsel’s request, we direct the jail authorities to grant him eight hours of outdoor time, as permitted to other prisoners, while confining him to a solitary cell during the night,” the bench decreed.

The counsel representing the jail authorities stated that Poonawala was segregated from other inmates due to security threats. He mentioned that a trial court had previously issued directives regarding Poonawala’s security following an attack on him while en route to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Rohini. Poonawala’s legal representative argued that despite not committing any “jail offence,” his client is deprived of any human interaction and kept in solitary confinement. Poonawala stands accused of strangling his live-in partner Walkar and dismembering her body in Delhi’s Mehrauli on May 18, 2022.

Allegedly, he then concealed Walkar’s body parts in a refrigerator before scattering them across various locations in the capital to evade detection. The Delhi Police filed a 6,629-page chargesheet in the case on January 24, 2023. Subsequently, a trial court framed charges of murder and evidence tampering against Poonawala.