Sudha Bharadwaj, 58, accused in the Bhima Koregaon case lodged at Byculla jail, has diabetes and ischemic disease, says a medical report submitted by the jail authorities in the Bombay High Court on Thursday.
Medical officer of the Mumbai Byculla District Jail submitted the report before a division bench of justices S.S. Shinde and S.P. Tavade.
The court was hearing a criminal appeal filed by Ms. Bharadwaj. She was arrested on August 28, 2018 from her house at Faridabad and was at Yerwada jail earlier before being moved to Byculla jail.
The High Court had on July 10 asked for a medical report after examining Ms Bharadwaj and another report on social distancing and conditions inside Byculla jail. A medical report was submitted by the jail superintendent on July 20, but the court found it to be illegible.
Ms. Bharadwaj’s interim bail plea on medical grounds was rejected by the special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on May 29. She had then said that she suffered from pre-existing medical conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and a history of pulmonary tuberculosis, making her extremely susceptible to contracting COVID-19 in Byculla jail. She also had “extremely painful swelling in her joints” and a frozen shoulder restricted her movement, she claimed.
On July 1, NIA opposed her bail. “Ms Bhardwaj, under the garb of current situation on account of the global pandemic COVID-19, is trying to take undue benefit of the aforesaid situation in seeking bail on the grounds mentioned in her application,” it said.
The agency also said available evidence on record clearly established that Ms. Bharadwaj, along with the other accused, was involved in selecting cadres for a banned Maoist organisation.
