Court Hears Bakery Blast Convict's Solitary Confinement Claim

The Maharashtra government informed the Bombay High Court on Monday that no prison in the state employs solitary confinement for convicts. This statement came during a hearing regarding a petition from Himayat Baig, a convict in the 2010 German Bakery blast case, who has claimed he has been held in solitary confinement at Nashik central prison for the past 12 years. Baig, serving a life sentence for the attack that killed 17 people, is seeking a transfer out of what he describes as solitary confinement. Public Prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar clarified to the division bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Prithviraj Chavan that while convicts sentenced for serious offenses, such as bomb blasts, are kept separately, this does not equate to solitary confinement. Venegaonkar emphasized that the state does not practice solitary confinement and that there is a legal distinction between being separated from other inmates and being placed in solitary confinement. He referenced section 11 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which stipulates that only a court can order solitary confinement for a maximum of three months. The High Court has requested Venegaonkar to submit an affidavit confirming this information and has scheduled the next hearing for two weeks from now. The 2010 German Bakery bombing, which targeted a popular eatery in Pune frequented by foreigners, remains a significant case, with Baig being the sole individual convicted, while six others, including alleged bomb planter Yasin Bhatkal, remain at large.