Bhima Koregaon: Hany Babu moves Bombay High Court for interim medical bail

Delhi University professor Hany Babu has approached Bombay High Court seeking interim medical bail in the Bhima Koregaon case of 2018. .Babu who has spent over 2 years in judicial custody has sought release from custody for a cataract surgery, treatment of his upper abdominal pain and osteoarthritis in a private hospital in Mumbai and post treatment recuperation at his own expense. On Friday, Advocate Yug Mohit Chaudhry requested the Court to direct the prison authorities to take Babu for a medical check up at the Breach Candy private hospital in Mumbai. Advocate Sandesh Patil, appearing for the National Investigation Agency (NIA), did not object to a check up, however he objected to presence of relatives in the hospital. He contended that presence of relatives could lead to biased reports in favour of the accused. A division bench of Justices AS Gadkari and PD Naik asked NIA to check the reports annexed to Babu's petition and posted the matter for hearing on December 13. .Babu submitted that he had approached the prison authorities and the special court under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act for his health issues. However, he did not receive any response. In the meantime, he claimed to have lost his vision due to cataract and experienced acute and unrelenting pain in his stomach and knees. Babu apprehended that the cause of his abdominal pain could be gallstones or pancreatitis. He, therefore, said that to examine the pain, a proper consultation with a gastroenterologist and necessary diagnostic tests, and possible surgery might be required. He also claimed that osteoarthritis caused pain in his right knee which made daily chores challenging.He approached the special NIA court in March this year seeking permission to be taken to JJ Hospital for consulting a gastroenterologist. He also sought admission to a private hospital at his expense for surgery, if required. The special judge directed that the accused be taken to JJ and sought a report from the prison authorities. The chief medical officer of Taloja prison stated that Babu had been examined for his complaints and then provided with necessary treatments and medicine from the prison hospital. The report stated that the petitioner would be referred to a government hospital as and when absolutely required. Babu claimed that similar applications were made again before the special court; however, neither was he taken to JJ hospital nor was he given any treatment in the prison hospital. .Babu was eventually taken to JJ hospital on September 9 this year for an eye examination after a complaint of blurred vision. He was advised follow up visits with reports for left eye cataract surgery. He was also asked to check for glaucoma. But subsequently, he has not been taken to JJ hospital for visits nor was he tested after that, it was stated.Babu claimed that State prison grossly violated his fundamental right to health and medical treatment which is guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. In light of this, he has sought interim bail of 3 months for detailed medical check up and treatment.