Shift Varavara Rao to Nanavati Hospital from Taloja jail: Bombay HC directs state

Source:-https://www.hindustantimes.com

Bombay High Court on Wednesday asked the Maharashtra government to shift Varavaro Rao to state-run Nanavati Rao Hospital for 15 days and ordered it to bear the cost of the 81-year-old Telugu poet’s treatment, news agency ANI reported. Rao has been imprisoned in Taloja jail in connection with the Elgar Parishad case.

The high court also said that Rao’s family can visit him as per the hospital’s norms, according to ANI.

Senior lawyer Indira Jaising argued on his behalf in Bombay High Court in a physical hearing. “He (Varavara Rao) is completely bed-ridden, in diapers, no medical attendant and has a catheter. The catheter was not changed for three months, as there was no one to change it,” she said, according to Live Law.

“There is a reasonable apprehension that he (Varavara Rao) will die in custody,” Indira Jaising said today. “I am alleging negligence on the part of the state. If the State is unable to look after him, he needs to be shifted to Nanavati Hospital,” she added.

Deepak Thakare, appearing on behalf of the state, had asked for Varavara Rao to be shifted to JJ Hospital, and all required tests to be conducted there. However, Jaising vehemently opposed this suggestion and informed the court that when Rao was admitted to JJ Hospital in July, he sustained head injuries, and was found lying in a pool of urine, with no nurse or attendant nearby.