The Bombay High Court on Monday reserved its order on a plea filed by 81-year-old poet Varavara Rao seeking regular bail on medical grounds.
A Division Bench of Justices S.B. Shukre and G.A. Sanap was hearing Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Anil Singh, who is representing the National Investigation Agency (NIA) probing the Bhima Koregaon caste violence case. Mr. Singh opposed the plea and pointed out that Mr. Rao was granted interim bail in February 2021 for six months, which was being extended from time to time. He mentioned that after being medically examined by the State-run JJ hospital, Mr. Rao was taken to a private hospital and as per its report "he is cognitively normal".
Mr. Singh went on to say that Mr. Rao had not been granted regular bail so there was no question of extension. The offences, which he had been accused of, were very serious and concerned national security and if found guilty, attracted death penalty, Mr. Singh said
Senior advocate Anand Grover appearing for Mr. Rao, who is currently staying in Mumbai, had urged the court on the last occasion that he be shifted back home to Telangana. On Monday, Mr. Singh opposed this as well and said: "It will be like granting him permanent bail and whatever medical assistance is needed, doctors at JJ hospital are competent."
The ASG also added that allowing Mr. Rao to go back to Telangana would set a wrong precedent and that he was granted interim bail in February last year also because of the COVID-19 situation.
Mr. Grover said Mr. Rao had shown early signs of Parkinsons and “the road is downhill, he may collapse”. “If he gets a brain clot in Taloja Central Jail, what will he do? How will they manage the risk at Taloja when there is no monitoring facility? Can he die because of that? I am not saying this loosely. There are no facilities there in Taloja. They are not putting money in it,” Mr. Grover said.
Mr. Grover also said that if arrests could be made from across the country, “why can he not report to the NIA court in Hyderabad?” Mr. Rao was arrested on August 28, 2018 from Telangana.
