Thread by @barandbench

Supreme Court Bench headed by Justice UU Lalit to shortly hear the plea filed against the Bombay HC order which dismissed the petition seeking for interim bail on medical grounds of lawyer-activist Sudha Bharadwaj
#NIA
#SupremeCourt
#SudhaBhardwaj

Bharadwaj’s counsel Ragini Ahuja had earlier told the Bombay HC that the activist had been in jail for over two years.

Ahuja had said Bharadwaj had comorbidities that put her at a higher risk of contracting the virus. #COVID19

NIA counsel, Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, argued against giving bail to Bharadwaj saying that if her condition required hospital care, the state would provide for it.

Singh had further informed HC that 81-year-old co-accused, Varavara Rao, who was admitted to a state-run facility and then a shifted to the private hospital - on intervention of the National Human Right's Commission - for treatment of COVID-19 and other ailments in July.

Hearing begins.

Senior Adv Vrinda Grover for petitioner : I am in custody since 2 years as an undertrial. charges are not proved. i am only seeking interim bail

Justice Lalit: please check the medical report

Grover: Sudha Bharadwaj is suffering from diabetes and comorbidities

Justice Lalit: she is 58 and is not severely diabetic

Grover: she has developed two diseases in custody. one is a heart disease which is a ticking time bomb. it needs a cardio profile, lipid profile.

Grover: Let me get the check up done. She has also developed arthritis. She has never abused any court order.

Justice Lalit: What is the case

Grover: there is a criminal conspiracy which is set to be hatched by her. she was practicing in bilaspur HC. It is nobodys case that any material is recovered from her but from someone else's phone.

Justice Lalit: Why don't you file a fresh bail plea?

Grover: there is one pending in HC

Justice Lalit: So the application on merits is pending.
Her sugar is 114 and not so serious

Grover: our contention is the heart disease

Justice Lalit: but that is not a part of this plea

Grover: She is suffering osteo arthritis and cardiac issues and this she has developed while in custody. (reads the medical report).

Justice Lalit: the HC order says the medication is in order

Senior Adv Grover: I only seek your indulgence to get checked. These tests cannot happen in the jail hospital

Justice Ajay Rastogi: She was examined on August 20 by jail authorities

Grover reads the medication being given to her by the jail hospital

Justice Rastogi: are you saying this report is false? You have a good case on merits. why don't you file a regular bail application

Justice Lalit: Either you withdraw it or we will dismiss it

Justice Lalit: the condition deserves a deeper look and a regular bail plea can be filed.

Plea dismissed as withdrawn

"You have a good case on merits, why don't you file for regular bail?", Supreme Court says; Sudha Bharadwaj plea for interim bail dismissed as withdrawn
#SudhaBharadwaj #SupremeCourt
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