This story is from February 11, 2015

Court for books to '06 Mumbai blast accused

Why can't free books be provided to an accused in the 2006 Mumbai serial train blasts, the Delhi high court asked the Centre on Monday.
Court for books to '06 Mumbai blast accused
NEW DELHI: Why can't free books be provided to an accused in the 2006 Mumbai serial train blasts, the Delhi high court asked the Centre on Monday.
Justice Rajeev Shakdher sought an explanation if the government is facing any problems in arranging books on homeopathy to Ehtesham Qutubuddin Siddiqui who wants to study further. HC also asked the government to inform it about the status of Siddiqui's case, who is currently lodged in a Mumbai jail.
Siddiqui had written a letter to HC, which was converted into a PIL, seeking a direction that he be provided 45 publications on homoeopathy free of cost in jail for studying since he was too poor to afford them.

During the hearing, HC asked counsel Rajdipa Behura, representing Delhi government, to find out why jail authorities could not purchase the publications and put them in the jail library from where the accused could source it. "What's the problem in providing the books to the accused? Jail must be having a library... it can purchase the books and put it there.
," Justice Shakdher said. One of the prime accused in the Mumbai train blasts of 2006, in which seven bombs kept in first-class coaches of Mumbai's suburban trains and at railway stations
that had killed 187 people, Siddiqui has been lodged in jail since 2006.
He had sought copies of books published by the central council for research in homeopathy (CCRH), Delhi under the RTI act to study but the council refused on the ground that these were "priced publications" and could not be given free of cost. His request for soft copies was also turned down, citing copyright laws.

After his pleas to the CCRH and the Central Information Commission were turned down, Siddiqui drafted a letter and mailed it to the Delhi high court in April 2012. Siddiqui argued that since he fell in the below poverty line category, a fact verified by the Bombay High Court registrar, he should be given this "information" free of cost.
He cited Section 7(5) of the RTI Act that said that even for supplying a priced publication, no fee shall be charged from people in the poor category.
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