Give Sudha Bharadwaj her medical records: Bombay HC to prison authorities

The Bombay High Court on Friday directed Maharashtra prison authorities to provide lawyeractivist Sudha Bharadwaj an accused in the Elgar ParishadMaoist links case with her medical records and said such relief must be extended to all prison inmates across the stateA bench of Justices SJ Kathawalla and SP Tavade was hearing a plea filed by Bharadwajs daughter last week through senior counsel Yug Chaudhry seeking medical aid and medical bail for her motherOn Friday however Chaudhry told the bench that after the plea was filed Bharadwaj was taken to state run JJ hospital and got requisite medical treatment Therefore he would not press for medical bail for Bharadwaj at present Chaudhry saidHe however urged HC to consider his request to direct the state to provide all prisoners with their medical records and to permit them to have a phone conversation with family members or their lawyers after every visit to a hospital or a medical examination conducted outside the prison premisesChaudhry said in the absence of such an order inmates were forced to file petitions to get access to their own medical records pathology test results etcAdditional Solicitor General Anil Singh who appeared for National Investigation Agency and the states counsel YP Yagnik opposed the request telling the court Chaudhry had not filed a PIL so he could not seek a general orderThis is not a PIL You can get an order for your own case Specific orders can be passed on a case to case basis There are various orders passed by HC from time to time taking care of prison inmates ASG Singh saidThe bench however said it agreed with Chaudhrys submission that prison inmates must have access to their own medical records under their fundamental right to life as guaranteed by Article 21 of the ConstitutionIn our view prisoners have a right to their own medical records under Article 21 All medical records details of tests medicines prescribed etc should be given to the petitioner Bharadwaj In fact we will go a step further and say this order must apply to all prisoners the HC bench saidThe bench also said Bharadwaj was permitted to make a phone call to an approved family member after any visit to a hospital outside the prison premises and the family member could then update the lawyer about the inmates conditionThis facility in our view should also remain available to all prisoners it saidAlso Read Elgar case Stan Swamy tells Bombay HC his health deteriorated steadily while in Taloja prisonBharadwaj an accused in the ElgarParishad Maoist links case is currently lodged in Byculla womens prison hereLast week Chaudhry had sought medical treatment and interim bail for Bharadwaj on medical grounds given the activists comorbidities and the risk of her contracting COVID19 while in prisonChaudhry had said Bhardwaj was kept in a prison ward with 50 other women under extremely unsanitary conditions with just three toilets for all of themThe ward where she is lodged is a literal death trap Chaudhry had said at the timeHe told the court on Friday that he and Bharadwajs family members had made numerous phone calls and written several emails to Byculla prison authorities seeking medical aid for the activist but all these had gone unansweredBharadwaj was finally taken to the JJ hospital after the present plea was filed he saidWe dont want bail unnecessarily but give us medical attention and our medical reports We have a right under Article 21 Chaudhry said on FridayThe HC disposed of the plea following Chaudhrys submissionsThis 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