Bhima Koregaon case: Supreme Court to hear Varavara Rao's plea for permanent medical bail on Tuesday

The Supreme Court on Monday said it would hear on Tuesday a plea filed by Telugu poet and an accused in the Bhima KoregaonElgar Parishad case P Varavara Rao challenging the Bombay High Court order rejecting his prayer for permanent medical bail in the matter A bench headed by Justice U U Lalit posted it for hearing on Tuesday after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta requested that he be allowed to place on record a compilation of documents and the matter be heard on July 12Allow me to place it on record and have it tomorrow His interim protection is till tomorrow Mehta told the bench also comprising Justices S R Bhat and Sudhanshu DhuliaSenior advocate Anand Grover appearing for Rao said he has no objection to thisCan it be taken up today I am ready my friend is ready We can finish it today Grover said Justice Lalit told Grover that he would be sitting in a different combination at 2 PM to hear the Amrapali homebuyers matterThe bench said it would take up the matter as item number one on July 12In his plea filed through advocate Nupur Kumar against the April 13 order of the high court Rao has said The petitioner is an 83yearold renowned Telugu poet and orator who has undergone over two years of incarceration as an undertrial and is currently enlarged on bail on medical grounds by the Bombay High Court respectfully submits that any further incarceration would ring the death knell for him as an advancing age and deteriorating health are a fatal combinationThe plea said Rao has challenged the high court order as he was not granted an extension of bail despite his advanced age and precarious health condition and his prayer to shift to Hyderabad was also deniedHe was arrested on August 28 2018 from his Hyderabad residence and is an undertrial in the Bhima Koregaon case for which an FIR was lodged by Pune police on January 8 2018 under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act UAPAInitially Rao said he was put under house arrest pursuant to an order of the apex court and ultimately on November 17 2018 he was taken into police custody and later shifted to the Taloja jailOn February 22 2021 the Bombay High Court had granted him bail on medical grounds and he was released from jail on March 6 2021Giving extensive details of his health condition including his sufferings in jail Rao said the high court order dated February 22 2021 had contemplated that the petitioner could be on medical bail for an extended period and even permanently on medical grounds depending on his condition supported by medical examination reportsThe judges in the impugned judgement and order committed a serious error in proceeding on the footing that because the earlier order had granted bail for a limited period of time namely six months it the earlier bench was not prepared to grant the bail for an unlimited period of time the plea saidIt added that after grant of bail the petitioners health deteriorated and he had developed an umbilical hernia for which he had to undergo surgeryHe needs to be operated for cataract in both eyes which he has not undertaken as the cost is prohibitive in Mumbai the plea said adding the petitioner has also been suffering from neurological problemsAlso Read 8yearold boy sits with brothers body in lap as father looks for ambulanceIt is submitted that in the totality of circumstances the trial will take not less than 10 years In fact one of the accused in the case Father Stan Swamy who was suffering from similar ailments as the petitioner passed away even before the trial could start it saidOn April 13 the high court had rejected the plea but extended the time for the activist to surrender before the Taloja prison authorities by three months to enable him to undergo cataract surgeryIt had also dismissed Raos application seeking that he be permitted to stay in Hyderabad instead of Mumbai while out on bailThe high court had said it had found substance in several claims made by Raos counsel on the lack of medical facilities at the Taloja prison in Navi Mumbai and the poor hygienic conditions thereThe court had directed the Maharashtra inspector general of prisons to submit a candid report on the state of such facilities at the Taloja prison in particular and also at all prisons across the stateThe case pertains to alleged inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31 2017 which the police claimed triggered violence the next day near the KoregaonBhima war memorial located on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra cityThe Pune police had also claimed that the conclave was organised by people with alleged Maoist linksLater the National Investigation Agency took over the probe in the matterThis 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 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