Senior advocate Anand Grover on Tuesday informed the Bombay High Court about 81-year-old poet Varavara Rao’s medical condition and argued for his medical bail as he continued to remain in a private hospital for treatment.
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Mr. Grover submitted Mr. Rao’s medical report compiled by the Maharashtra government to a Division Bench of Justices S.S. Shinde and Manish Pitale.
Mr. Grover said the first medical report when Mr. Rao was admitted to the State-run JJ Hospital had still not been shared with them.
In reply, Additional Solicitor-General Anil Singh, representing the National Investigation Agency that is probing the Bhima-Koregaon violence case, said Mr. Rao’s present condition needed to be considered for medical bail.
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However, the court said it would consider all the medical reports as the matter pertained to medical bail.
Mr. Singh added that the first report did not mention that Mr. Rao had dementia. The Bench, in reply, said they would want to see the first report.
Mr. Grover said Mr. Rao was arrested and lodged at the Taloja Central Jail. Thereafter, he was shifted to Taloja hospital due to his pre-existing medical conditions.
Mr. Grover listed the conditions — kidney failure, heart ailments, blood pressure, blood thinner and anti-depressants — and said Mr. Rao had to be given about 20 medicines every day. Mr. Rao also developed a urinary tract infection and was not monitored by Taloja hospital after being discharged from JJ Hospital.
Mr. Grover said he did not need to continue at Nanavati hospital, but the jail reports did not have details of his health.
He urged the court to release Mr. Rao on medical bail so that he could be fit for trial.
The poet suffered from a neurological condition and would be fit for trial only if he was with his family, he argued. Mr Rao’s daughter and son-in-law were both doctors, Mr. Grover added.
Mr. Grover will continue his arguments on Wednesday.