The Bombay High Court on Thursday, 13 May, directed the Maharashtra government to file a medical report for lawyer and activist Sudha Bharadwaj by Monday, as she seeks interim bail on medical grounds, reported Bar and Bench.
Bharadwaj was imprisoned in relation to the Bhima Koregaon case, and is currently in the Byculla Women’s Jail in Mumbai.
Justices KK Tated and Abhay Ahuja heard the plea, and will hear the matter next on 21 May.
Bharadwaj’s daughter, Maaysha Singh, in her plea requested that the court grant her interim bail on medical grounds owing to her comorbidities and the risk of contracting COVID-19 in jail. Bharadwaj suffers from diabetes and a history of tuberculosis and is ‘very unwell,’ she added.
Bharadwaj is suffering from ‘diarrhoea, extreme fatigue and constant exhaustion to the extent that she cannot wash clothes or even bathe,’ the plea stated.
‘Literal Death Trap’: Bharadwaj’s Lawyer
Her lawyer, Yug Chaudhry, expressed concern regarding the unsanitary conditions of the prison ward she shared with 50 other women.
"The ward where she is lodged is a literal death trap," Chaudhry submitted, reported Live Law. He added that three of her co-prisoners have recently tested COVID positive and Byculla jail has about 40 active cases, according to news reports.
The counsel for Maharashtra government, Jayesh Yagnik, told the Bombay High Court that Bharadwaj was to undergo a medical checkup at the JJ Hospital, and that she had tested negative for COVID-19 twice.
Earlier, in August 2020, her bail plea in view of the COVID-19 outbreak in prisons was rejected by the Bombay High Court.
Bharadwaj was booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), for inciting the Bhima Koregaon violence in 2018 along with nine other activists.
(With inputs from Bar and Bench, LiveLaw and PTI)
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