A special court on Friday directed Byculla jail authorities to submit, on June 19, the medical reports of professor Shoma Sen (61), an accused in the Elgaar Parishad case who is seeking interim medical bail.
The court has received the medical reports of poet Varavara Rao (81) from JJ Hospital, where he was admitted on May 28 with complaints of giddiness and fainting.
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Arrested in 2018
Earlier on March 31, both their interim medical bail pleas were rejected by a special court set up to try cases under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). They were arrested on August 28, 2018, and had sought interim bail citing their bad health, their age, and the spread of the novel coronavirus. Ms. Sen’s application said she suffered from multiple ailments including osteoarthritis, glaucoma and high blood pressure, which could make her vulnerable to COVID-19. Mr. Rao said in his application that the elderly were more vulnerable to the virus.
While rejecting their bail pleas, the court observed that the accused were booked under UAPA, along with other sections of the Indian Penal Code.
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The court added that the directions of the high power committee excludes prisoners booked under UAPA from getting bail.
Mr. Rao and Ms. Sen are among 11 people booked by the Pune Police in the Elgaar Parishad-Bhima-Koregaon case, before the probe was taken over by the National Investigation Agency.