Bengaluru: A Bengaluru court on Thursday rejected jailed Kannada film star Darshan Thoogudeepa's application for homecooked food, separate clothing and bedding in prison.
Darshan, along with 16 others, is currently in judicial custody for the murder of Chitradurga native Renukaswamy.
Vishwanath C Gowdar, the 24th Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM), passed the order rejecting the application.
During the hearing, the counsel for Darshan claimed that he was a movie actor and was following a healthy, rich protein diet to maintain his physique and muscular body and that the food provided to him wasn’t compatible as he suffered bouts of diarrhoea/indigestion and other digestive issues.
Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) P Prasanna Kumar contended that Darshan cannot be given special treatment contrary to the rules contemplated under the Karnataka Prisons and Correctional Services Manual, 2021, only on account of being an influential person or being a cine actor pursuant to the report of the Chief Superintendent of the Bengaluru Central Prison, which is accompanied by the report of the Chief Medical Officer, which nowhere contemplates the recommendation by the Chief Medical Officer to provide a special diet, which is as contemplated in the rules of the aforesaid manual.
Kumar also apprehended that if permitted, the prison authorities have to increase the checking of the food daily.
The court noted that the claim of the actor that he was having bouts of repeated stomach upsets and diarrhoea was "not forthcoming as per the report of the Chief Medical Officer dated July 22 as well as an earlier report of the Chief Medical Officer dated July 16. That apart, the reports neither contain an advice nor a recommendation to provide a protein diet as claimed in the instant IA”.
“It is incumbent upon this court to give due consideration to the report of the Chief Medical Officer (July 22). The overall examination of the diet chart as set out in Rule 332 of the Manual 2021, it is very clear that the said chart discloses the nutritional diet being followed by the prison authorities in the food provided to the prisoners.
"The said food will suffice to meet the advice/recommendation by the Medical Officer as the same is only for a nutritional diet with bed rest under supervision vide report dated 22.07.2024. It is needless to point out that, the accused No. 2 is under continuous supervision on the basis of SOS by the Chief Medical Officer, who is placed in the Central Prison premises.”
The court also considered Rule 728 of the Karnataka Prisons and Correctional Services Manual, 2021, wherein it “prohibits the undertrial prisoners facing the allegations of murder from the claim of their own clothing, bedding, eating and drinking vessels from the prison authorities".
"Having regard to the contentions urged by the prosecution, this court is constrained to give a conjoint reading of the aforesaid Rule 728 of the Karnataka Prisons and Correctional Services Manual, 2021, with Sections 30 and 32 (restriction on the transfer of food and clothing between certain prisoners) of the Prisons Act, 1963."