Urging the Bombay High Court to exercise its power under Article 226 of the Constitution to release octogenarian poet Varavara Rao from custody, senior advocate Indira Jaising told the Court that the conditions of his detention are ‘cruel, inhuman and degrading’.
Jaising is appearing for Rao’s wife P Hemalatha in a writ petition filed last year that states that Rao’s fundamental right to life is breached by continued incarceration in prison without adequate medical facilities.
The senior advocate told a bench of Justice Manish Shinde and Justice SS Pitale that Rao’s right to dignity and health are breached by his continued incarceration and urged the bench to exercise its jurisdiction under the Article to release him from prison.
"The right to health and dignity is a faucet, a fundamental right under Article 226 of the Constitution of India," Jaising said, adding that the right to life and dignity is a fundamental right under Article 21.
The court found these ‘general submissions’ and suggested that she argue specifically considering Rao’s health and age.
The same bench also heard Rao’s bail plea on medical grounds. Here, appearing for Rao, senior advocate Anand Grover submitted that Taloja jail hospital is inept to provide the required medical facilities to the 81-year-old. Grover sought that Rao could be granted bail for a period of three months, in which he could report to any authority as directed by the court.
Rao is currently in Nanavati Hospital. On Tuesday, the NIA represented by Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh and the state by counsel Deepak Thakare had informed the court that Rao’s condition had improved and he is fit to be discharged as per the Nanavati Hospital authorities.
In November, last year, after the HC’s intervention, he was admitted in Nanavati Hospital. The Telugu poet, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case, had been in Pune’s Yerawada prison since August 2018 and, thereafter, after NIA took over the case, in the city’s Taloja prison since February last year.
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