Aastha Thakur
Published on: 30 November 2022 at 22:55 IST
The Delhi High Court denies plea of former Popular Front of India (PFI) chairman E Abubacker to place him under house arrest on account of his medical condition. The court noted that he denied himself that he does not wanted to get treatment at home.
The case was heard by Division Bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Talwant Singh addressing the matter they noted that it’s not regular bail matter and accused can’t be acquitted at this stage.
The bench further added that accused may seek regular bail based on merits.
“Your application is only for interim bail on medical grounds…It is not on merits,”
Abubacker, who was arrested by the agency in September of this year, had applied for bail due to medical concerns. He contested the trial court’s decision to deny him bail, arguing that he should receive the appropriate care at AIIMS.
Abubacker stated in his plea that he has a number of illnesses, including a rare form of oesophageal cancer, Parkinson’s disease, hypertension, diabetes, and vision loss.
The counsel appearing for him, argued that Abubacker is 70 yrs old person and need regular care. His client is great pain and the required medical tests are being delayed as he sought either immediate release or house arrest.
The court ordered the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to submit a report on the condition of the accused’s health, including details on the treatment plan recommended by doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
Advocate Pujari opposed the arguments, claiming that his client has Parkinson’s disease and cancer, both of which cause him to forget to take his medications every four hours. He added that given the accused’s precarious health, a trimurti (trio) of doctors at AIIMS was not necessary to conduct an assessment.
This was not sit right with court. The bench asked the counsel whether he is interested in treatment of applicant or not.
Justice Talwant said, “Suggest the name of a hospital which is better than AIIMS. Can you get an appointment in AIIMS on your own? We will see how he is to be treated…Leave it to us,”.
Still, the counsel held his ground to allow his treatment in “house arrest”. Justice Mridul agitatedly remarked, “House arrest…he can’t be treated at home. That’s your case”.
The cousel also cited the similar case of Gautam Navlakha where he was taken to hospital everyday during his house arrest.
The court on this said, “We don’t know about Gautam Navlakha…If you are seeking expeditious examination, consultation, treatment for Abubacker…”
“That’s a different matter. If you, for a moment believe that without addressing us on the merits, we are going to grant you regular bail, then we are not. This is not an appeal which is directed against the application of regular bail”.
Regarding his pending MRI Scan scheduled time, the court remarked, “Surely, he can’t wait for a scan till 2024. It is completely unacceptable. He is incarcerated for an offence that is a different matter but doesn’t mean we will wait till 2024”.