PMC Bank fraud case: Bombay High Court rejects Rakesh Wadhawan's medical bail plea

The Bombay High Court has refused to grant bail on health grounds to jailed businessman Rakesh Wadhawan accused of money laundering in the multicrore Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative PMC Bank fraud caseWadhawan the founder of Housing Development Infrastructure Limited HDIL was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in 2019 in the case A single bench presided over by Justice Nitin Sambre said that Wadhawans submission that he was immediately required to be released on temporary bail on medical ground was not justifiedIt said that denial of medical bail was in no way a breach of Wadhawans fundamental right to life since he had been provided adequate medical treatment by the state prison authorities whenever required Wadhawan who recently underwent a surgery for pacemaker implantation had sought that he be released on bail so that he can seek discharge from the civicrun KEM Hospital in the city where he is recuperating currently while in judicial custody and shift to a private hospital while out on bailWadhawan had said in his plea that he suffered from severe comorbidities that his immune system had been compromised after having contracted Covid19 recently and that he was susceptible to contracting infections and ailments while at the civic hospital due to the heavy footfall the hospital receivedHe further said that the KEM Hospital did not have an ICU facility specifically meant for those suffering from cardiac issues States counsel Prajakta Shinde however objected to Wadhawans bail plea She pointed out that he had been provided timely and specialised medical treatment at staterun and civic hospitals by the state prison authorities from time to time since his arrestShinde said the KEM Hospital authorities had themselves recommended that Wadhawan be shifted to another hospital for the pacemaker implantation surgery since the hospital didnt have such facility However now that the surgery was over Wadhawan could continue his medical treatment at KEM Shinde also submitted documents to show that KEM hospital was currently undergoing renovations and arrangements were being made to set up a cardiac ICU within a few weeksThe court took note of the states submissions and agreed that Wadhawan had indeed been provided the best possible medical treatment by the state prison authorities whenever required In the backdrop of aforesaid treatment having been provided by state authorities it cannot be inferred that right of the applicant guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution for having proper medical treatment in superspeciality hospital is violated the high court saidRather various medical treatments which are given to the applicant are proved to be lifesaving at this stage The claim put forth by the applicant that he is immediately required to be released on temporary bail on medical ground is not justified It lacks merit and stands rejected it added The court however granted Wadhawan the liberty to approach the court in case of any emergencyAlso Read NCB to approach Bombay HC for cancellation of Nawab Malikrsquos soninlaw Sameer Khans bail SourcesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever