Chanda Kochhar walks out of jail. How she spent time inside it

The court then allowed her access to home food, bed, mattress and chair. When she was ordered to be sent to judicial custody on December 29, however, the court said it would have to call for a report from the jail authorities on continuing the facilities for her. The Byculla jail authorities opposed her plea stating that it provided proper food and bedding as per the jail manual. Her lawyer had submitted that the medical officer in jail himself had said she had vertigo and knee issues and hence needed proper posture. The court, considering the submissions of the jail authorities, rejected her plea.

At Byculla, jail officials said Kochhar was kept in one of the regular barracks after being assigned an undertrial number. While in some cases, the jail officials decide on whether to keep the undertrial in a separate barrack, considering safety and other concerns, officials said that Kochhar was kept in the regular barracks.

The jail officials in their plea before the court had said that there are 400 women prisoners in the jail. The official capacity of the prison is 262. This means less space for prisoners in the barracks. The officials also said that each prisoner is given tea in the morning and evening, breakfast, including sheera, poha, upma, milk and banana. For lunch and dinner, roti, vegetables and fruits are given, the officials told the court.

Those suffering from illness are provided special food as per the advice of the medical officer, including eggs, milk, steamed vegetables and unspicy food. The jail officials also said each prisoner can also receive a money order of up to Rs 6,000 from their family which can be used to purchase items from the canteen including snacks. Prison inmates said that there are regular complaints made to the authorities regarding the quality of food. Many inmates add spices bought from the canteen to bring up to taste food provided by the jail.

Inmates also said in the jail, which also houses one circle of male prisoners, restrictions are placed on the movement of women prisoners outside their circles. During some hours in the day, the gates of their barracks are unlocked. Prisoners can walk around freely within the circle. Inmates said that most of this time is used by prisoners to walk outside in the common area to catch sunlight. During her incarceration, officials said Kochhar’s children had visited her.