The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to take up as the first case on July 12 a plea for permanent bail on medical grounds by Telugu poet and an accused in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case P. Varavara Rao.
A Bench led by Justice U.U. Lalit could not take up the case, which was listed as item number 30 on Monday, as the judges had to sit in a different combination at 2 p.m.
Explained | India’s sedition law, its usage, and the opinions around it
"We will take it up tomorrow as the first item on the list," Justice Lalit told senior advocate Anand Grover, who appeared for Mr. Rao.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the National Investigation Agency, said that the interim protection granted to Mr. Rao was operative till July 12. He said the agency would file more records by the end of the day.
Mr. Grover, who urged the case to be taken up later in the day, agreed when the court informed him about the change in the Bench post-lunch.
‘Advancing age, deteriorating health’
"The petitioner, an 83-year-old renowned Telugu poet and orator, who has undergone over two years of incarceration as an undertrial and is currently enlarged on bail on medical grounds by the Bombay High Court, respectfully submits that any further incarceration would ring the death knell for him as advancing age and deteriorating health are a fatal combination," the petition said.
Mr. Rao has challenged the High Court order as he was not granted an extension of bail despite his advanced age and precarious and deteriorating health condition. His plea to shift him to Hyderabad was also denied.
He was arrested on August 28, 2018 from his Hyderabad residence and is an undertrial in the Bhima Koregaon case for which an FIR was lodged by the Pune Police at the Vishrambagh police station on January 8, 2018 under various Sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Initially, Mr. Rao said he was put under house arrest pursuant to an order of the Supreme Court and ultimately, on November 17, 2018, he was taken into police custody and later, shifted to the Taloja jail.
On February 22, 2021, the Bombay High Court granted him bail on medical grounds and he was released from jail on March 6, 2021.
Giving extensive details of his health conditions, including his sufferings in jail, Mr. Rao said the High Court order of February 22, 2021 had contemplated that he could be on medical bail for an extended period and even permanently on medical grounds, depending on his health condition supported by medical examination reports.
