Anil Deshmukh case: HC deprecates seeking urgent hearings on medical grounds

Deprecating the practice of seeking urgent hearings of bail pleas citing medical emergencies the Bombay High Court on Friday adjourned the hearing on the bail application filed by Maharashtras former home minister Anil Deshmukh arrested in a money laundering caseThe court said that urgent hearings being sought on medical grounds has become a problemA single bench of Justice Anuja Prabhudessai also directed Desmukhs lawyer to give in writing what medical emergency the NCP leader was facingThe court said urgent hearing on Deshmukhs bail plea was sought by his advocates on the ground of medical emergencySo now I will hear the plea only on medical grounds and not on merits the court saidThis petition was listed a day after it was filed only because the precipe application seeking urgent hearing mentioned medical grounds Otherwise priority is given to old bail matters pending since many years Justice Prabhudessai saidI dont want anyone saying something tomorrow Justice Prabhudessai saidThe court further said that several accused are languishing in jail since more than five and ten yearsKeeping such accused waiting we cannot take up new matters for hearing This is why I had said only those pleas in which there is some medical emergency or funeral are taken up for hearing Justice Prabhudessai saidThe moment I issued these directives every bail plea filed says medical emergency Courts cannot be taken for granted like this the court saidJustice Prabhudessai said this has become a problem in several bail petitions where urgent hearing is sought on medical emergenciesDeshmukhs advocate Aniket Nikam told the court that there was medical emergency in the case and that the senior NCP leader was admitted to the staterun J J Hospital for shoulder dislocationNikam urged the court to call for a medical report on Deshmukhs health conditionThe court however said it would not do so on its own and asked Nikam to file an application stating what medical emergency Deshmukh is facingYou Nikam put it in writing I will then ask the ED Enforcement Directorate to respond and then we will see if medical report needs to be called Justice PrabhudessaiThe court adjourned hearing Deshmukhs plea for two weeksDeshmukh was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate ED in November 2021 and is currently in judicial custodyThe NCP leader had filed a petition in the high court after a special court rejected his bail plea earlier this month He sought bail on grounds of his ailing health and termed the EDs case as false and frivolousThe ED in its affidavit opposed the bail plea and said Deshmukh was the mastermind and brain behind the conspiracy and that he has misused his official position as home ministerDeshmukh is presently in CBI custody till April 11 in connection with its corruption probeThis 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