Bombay High Court permits Hany Babu to be shifted to Breach Candy Hospital

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday permitted Delhi Universitys associate professor Hany Babu an accused in the Elgar ParishadMaoist links case to be shifted to the private Breach Candy Hospital here for medical treatmentHany Babu moved the HC on Wednesday morning seeking medical aid for an eye infection which he developed after contracting Covid19The HC said Babu should be shifted to the Breach Candy Hospital on Thursday under police protection and charges for his treatment there and medicines prescribed will be borne by him and his familyHany Babu tested positive for coronavirus earlier this month and is currently undergoing treatment at the staterun GT Hospital in MumbaiLast week authorities of the Taloja prison in neighbouring Navi Mumbai brought him to the J J Hospital here from where he was shifted to the G T HospitalAlso Read Bombay High Court summons hospital dean on Hany Babus plea for medical aidHis wife Jenny Rowena moved the HC on Wednesday morning seeking interim bail and medical aid for himHer counsel senior advocate Yug Chaudhry approached a vacation bench of Justices S J Kathawalla and S P Tavade seeking an urgent hearing on the ground that besides testing positive for coronavirus Babu had also developed a severe eye infection and ran the risk of losing vision in his left eyeChaudhry said Babu must be checked to rule out the possibility of black fungusMucormycosis or black fungus is a rare but serious infection which has been found in several Covid19 patientsThe bench accordingly summoned the G T Hospitals Dean Dr B G Chikhalkar who appeared with other doctors via videoconferencing and told the bench that Babu was being provided adequate treatmentThe court then asked for a video call to be arranged between the bench and Hany BabuWhen Babu came on the line he told the HC that he was satisfied with the treatment at the G T HospitalMy eye is a little better now I am satisfied he saidThe hospital authorities told the HC that they were not equipped to carry out an MRI angio test that had been recommended for Babus brain by the J J HospitalAdvocate Chaudhry told the HC that Babu also needed several other specialised tests to be conducted and sought interim bailIf the state cant take care of me let me take care of myself and my life Chaudhry arguedThe HC said while it wont grant bail to Babu it could allow him to be shifted to a hospital of his choiceThe NIAs counsel Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh opposed it and said the citybased J J Hospital KEM Hospital Nair Hospital were all equipped to treat BabuOtherwise this will become a precedent and all prisoners will want to be shifted to private hospitals Singh saidThe HC however refused to accept the submission Let the family get psychological satisfaction at least that he is being treated at a hospital of their choice especially if they are footing the bill the court saidThe HC said there is nothing wrong in making this a precedent especially in the current situationThats why we are asking him to pay the bill We havent taken the Nanavati precedent and asked state to pay the bill the HC saidIt was referring to a previous HC order that had directed the private Nanavati Hospital here to bear the treatment cost of activist Varavara Rao who is also an accused in the Elgar ParishadMaoist links caseThe HC directed the Breach Candy Hospital to submit Babus medical report in court by June 9 the next date of hearing or whenever Babu is discharged from the hospitalAs per his family and lawyer Babu developed an acute eye infection on May 3 and is yet to receive appropriate medical careLast week Babus wife Jenny Rowena said in a press conference that his family was struggling to get information from prison authorities and the NIA which is conducting a probe into the case on his health conditionBabu was arrested by the National Investigation Agency NIA in July 2020The Elgar Parishad case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches made at a conclave held in Pune on December 31 2017 which police claimed triggered violence the next day near the KoregaonBhima war memorial in the districtThe Pune police claimed the conclave was backed by Maoists The case was later taken over by the NIA Several other activists including Sudha Bharadwaj and Varavara Rao had been arrested in the caseThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever