New Delhi: A court on Tuesday allowed former MLA Naresh Balyan to have e-mulakat and telephonic conversations with his family for five minutes once a week from Mandoli Jail, observing that a person in custody does not lose fundamental rights. Arrested on Dec 4 last year, Balyan is in judicial custody in an MCOCA case linked with an organised crime syndicate allegedly run by gangster Kapil Sangwan alias Nandu.“Merely because a person is in custody during the trial of a case, the person does not lose his fundamental rights. This aspect needs no emphasis,” the court of special judge Dig Vinay Singh said. “Having reviewed the above-mentioned judgments of Hon’ble Delhi High Court as cited, this court is satisfied that, with certain restrictions on telephonic communications/e-mulakat, permission can be granted to an undertrial in MCOCA as well,” he added.Balyan had pleaded that he was diagnosed as a “psychiatric patient” and his mental health depended on regular family interaction. It said he was previously allowed to have e-mulakat with his family, but this privilege was suddenly revoked. The telephonic conversations with his family were denied or inconsistently permitted, the plea submitted.Noting that Balyan claimed to be suffering from psychiatric problems, the judge said mentally sound and healthy inmates should also be permitted to speak to family members at least once a week, which would help maintain their mental health. “The applicant (Balyan) is permitted to have one telephonic conversation and one e-mulakat per week, each lasting five minutes,” the order stated.On May 27, the same court rejected the bail plea of Balyan, observing that the criminal nexus between a politician and a gangster was the “most perilous” threat to a nation and its citizens.
