Overview

• On July 3, a special PMLA court directed Arthur Road Jail to strictly enforce its May 14 order to provide Riteshkumar Shah with Jain meals after he alleged ongoing non-compliance.
• Shah, arrested on March 29 by the Enforcement Directorate in a Malegaon money-laundering probe, told the court he received only chapatis and dal or sabzi intermittently since the initial order.
• On June 24, the court issued a show-cause notice to the jail superintendent following Shah’s claim that he was surviving on chapatis alone despite the dietary directive.
• Arthur Road Jail officials responded that Shah has been given food per his dietary requirements and that home-cooked meals were barred without a clear judicial mandate.
• Legal experts say the dispute underscores gaps in prison dietary guidelines and highlights the court’s role in upholding detainees’ religious rights under Article 21 of the Constitution.