Bhima Koregaon case: Poet Varavara Rao to be moved to hospital for 15 days

The Bombay excessive court docket on Wednesday ordered Maharashtra to shift octogenarian Telugu poet P Varavara Rao from Mumbai’s Taloja jail to Nanavati Hospital for 15 days to endure medical therapy, with the state underlining that this was a particular case that might not be handled as a precedent.

The order by a two-judge bench, comprising justices SS Shinde and Madhav Jamdar, got here on a petition by Rao’s spouse Hemlata who alleged that the poet’s well being had drastically deteriorated and that his continued detention — for 2 years now — was a breach of his basic rights.

The state and the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the case, first opposed any switch, then stated the poet — who’s dealing with costs beneath the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for his alleged function within the 2018 Bhima Koregaon riots — might be moved to a authorities facility and at last that he ought to pay for his therapy.

But the court docket rejected all contentions, and requested that Rao not be discharged from hospital with out its assent.

“Ultimately, there is a man on death bed. He is 80 years old and has serious disease. He will come to court. Can the state say, no we will treat him in Taloja?” the court docket stated.

Rao’s lawyer Indira Jaising advised the court docket that his household feared he may die if he was not shifted to a hospital and likewise sought bail. The court docket stated it’ll hear the bail plea on December three and sought Rao’s medical report after therapy at Nanavati Hospital.

Jaising advised the court docket that Rao was bedridden, was regularly delirious and had misplaced comprehension of actuality. She additionally submitted that Rao earlier examined positive for Covid-19 and that his household was fearful that he could undergo issues within the type of organ failure given his age.

Additional solicitor normal Anil Singh, who appeared for the NIA, opposed the plea and stated that Rao might be shifted to JJ Hospital as all of the exams might be performed there.

The court docket noticed that authorities hospitals have been overburdened attributable to Covid-19 and requested Singh whether or not he’ll admit his relations to JJ or St George’s hospitals. He stated it was not as if individuals weren’t being admitted and handled in these locations. He additionally stated that shifting Rao to Nanavati Hospital would set a mistaken precedent.

Jaising objected and stated Rao’s household discovered him mendacity in a pool of urine in JJ hospital and that if Rao died for the need of correct medical therapy, it could quantity to custodial loss of life. “Death is inevitable but there should be some dignity,” she stated.

The court docket directed that the price of Rao’s therapy at Nanavati Hospital, a non-public facility, might be borne by the state authorities. Public prosecutor Deepak Thakre, representing the state authorities, initially advised Rao ought to bear the price of therapy at Nanavati Hospital.

But Jaising argued that the Supreme Court held a state couldn’t cite lack of cash as a cause to not take care of a citizen’s basic rights. The bench accepted the submission and reminded the state that even on the Nanavati Hospital, Rao would proceed to stay in judicial custody.

“He (Rao) is in your (state) custody. Even in the hospital he will remain in your custody, so you pay for the treatment,” the bench stated.

Thakre then spoke to Maharashtra house minister Anil Deshmukh and advised the court docket that the state had no objection to the plea. He stated Rao being shifted to a non-public multispeciality hospital can be handled as a “special case” and never a precedent for different circumstances.

Rao is amongst over a dozen students and activists arrested for his or her alleged hyperlinks to Maoists and for allegedly instigating violence at Bhima Koregaon close to Pune on January 1, 2018. The activists are accused of constructing provocative speeches at an occasion known as the Elgar Parishad in Pune on December 31, 2017, and conspiring to foment the riots that killed one particular person and left many injured.

Hemlatha moved the court docket final week after studying about Rao’s deteriorating well being on the jail hospital.

Jaising submitted that when Rao was arrested two years in the past, he was wholesome. She stated his situation deteriorated inside jail and added that co-accused Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira took care of Rao however they weren’t medically skilled. Jaising blamed the state’s negligence for a head damage Rao suffered whereas arguing for the necessity to shift her shopper to the Nanavati Hospital. Jaising stated Rao’s psychological well being was failing and his capability to eat was additionally compromised.

Rao was arrested in August 2018. He was first taken to JJ Hospital on May 28 after he fell unconscious, however was discharged on June 1. The household alleged that Rao was discharged in a hurried method to impede his bail plea. His bail was denied by an NIA court docket on June 26.

Rao continued to point out indicators of delirium and was admitted to JJ Hospital once more on July 13. Later, he was shifted to St George’s Hospital after he examined positive for Covid-19.

On July 13, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued discover to Maharashtra authorities, asking it to make sure Rao was taken care of. Maharashtra chief secretary responded on July 22, saying sufficient care was supplied.

In October, Hemlatha moved the Supreme Court in search of bail however a three-judge bench on October 29 requested the Bombay excessive court docket to listen to his plea on the earliest.

Last week, a division bench of the Bombay excessive court docket directed the state authorities and NIA to rearrange for a right away video medical session for Rao with medical doctors at Nanavati Hospital.