Court pulls up jail superintendent

A Delhi court has pulled up Tihar Jail Superintendent for his "depreciable" conduct in releasing from prison a police official, accused in a cheating case relating to exchange of demonetised currency, without getting corrected an error in FIR number made in the bail order.
Special Judge Poonam Chaudhry, who had earlier granted bail to Delhi Police sub inspector Sudhir Rathi, said it is the duty of jail superintendent, in case of any error or omission in the order, to get it corrected.
The FIR number was wrongly mentioned in the bail order and the accused police man moved the court for its correction.

When the matter came to light, the court sought a report from jail superintendent as to how the accused was released from prison in case the correct FIR number was not mentioned.
The jail authorities responded that though the FIR number in the bail order was not correct, Rathi had not been taken into custody in any other case, therefore, he was released.
The submission, however, did not go down well with the judge who said "I am of the view that the explanation furnished by Jail Superintendent is not justifiable as clarification had to be sought by jail superintendent in this regard from this court.

"It is the duty of the jail superintendent in case any error or omission in the order to get it corrected."

"Keeping in view the high security prison, such conduct of jail superintendent is depreciable. The said fact be brought to the notice of Director General of Prisons. A copy of order be sent to DG Prisons," the court said and listed the matter for further proceedings on March 20.
The court had on December 20 last year granted bail to Rathi after which he was released from jail.
According to the police, the complainant, a cloth trader, had come to Delhi on November 7, 2016 in connection with his business and the next day, he came to know about demonetisation of currency notes. He approached Shailender Singh through his relative for changing the old notes.

Singh told him that his sister was a bank manager and she could get the demonetised currency exchanged after which the complainant gave Rs 18 lakh to them on November 17, it said.
The police alleged that the accused kept on delaying the payment of the amount on one pretext or the other after which an FIR was lodged. During the probe, it was found that the demonetised notes were given to Rohit Arora and two others who allegedly misappropriated it in connivance with Rathi.