Bombay High Court calls for medical report of Bhima Koregaon accused Sudha Bharadwaj in plea seeking bail on medical grounds

The Bombay High Court on Thursday directed the Maharashtra government to submit by May 17, the latest medical report of Bhima Koregaon accused, advocate Sudha Bharadwaj in a plea seeking her release from prison on medical grounds (Maaysha Singh v. State of Maharashtra & Anr). .Bharadwaj is one of the accused in the Elgar Parishad event of 2018 which triggered violence at Bhima Koregaon the next day and has been detained at Women's Prison in Byculla, Mumbai.The present plea has been moved by Bharadwaj's daughter Maaysha Singh, under Article 226 seeking her mother's release on medical grounds..Advocate Yug Mohit Chaudhry appearing for Singh on Thursday contended that Bharadwaj suffers from diabetes mellitus, hyper-tension, ischemic heart disease and history of pulmonary tuberculosis and is at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19.Chaudhry, referring to newspaper reports, submitted that there were over forty active COVID cases in Byculla prison including a cell inmate of Bharadwaj's and they were all confined to a barrack of about 50-60 prisoners sharing only 3 bathrooms."There is no sanitary co-existence or social distancing. The ward where she is lodged is literal death trap," Chaudhry claimed.He moved the application seeing urgent interim release on bail till the pendency of the present plea..Advocate Sandesh Patil appearing for National Investigation Agency (NIA) opposed the plea stating that there is no urgency to hear the plea during court vacation and sought for time to file a reply.Additional Public Prosecutor Jayesh P Yagnik submitted that the Byculla prison authorities had taken Bharadwaj to JJ hospital for a medical check up today. He sought a week's time to file the medical report in Court..A Bench of Justices KK Tated and Abhay Ahuja, however, directed Yagnik to submit the latest medical report by Monday and give a copy to Chaudhry and posted the matter for hearing on May 21, 2021..Singh submitted in her plea that on April 30, 2021 during a telephonic mulakaat, her mother informed her that she was suffering from severe diarrhoea and fatigue and that she had also lost her sense of taste. She was also short of breath when she climbed stairs.Singh stated that Bharadwaj is an extremely vulnerable patient requiring constant medical supervision and life-saving equipment at short notice. Due to her co-morbidities, she is also at a fatal risk of COVID-19, it was submitted. .Singh raised concern that her mother may not get the basic minimum care and treatment in custody. She also stated that the Prison Superintendent has a deep personal dislike and bias against her mother. She referred to an article in a newspaper to substantiate her claim where the prison superintendent told the reporter that Bharadwaj was using her ill health as an excuse to get bail. .Singh filed the present plea claiming that the prison authorities had grossly neglected and violated Bharadwaj's fundamental rights under Article 21 of the Constitution.She, therefore, sought release on personal bond or low cash or surety bail for the initial period of 6 months or till the spread of COVID-19 can be contained in Mumbai.