Bombay HC Gives Clearance To Sudha Bharadwaj For Accessing Medical Records

The Bombay High Court gave Sudha Bharadwaj, the activist and lawyer, who was arrested in the Elgar Parishad case, got clearance for accessing her medical records on Friday.

A division bench headed of Justice S J Kathawalla and Justice S P Tavade were hearing a petition, filed by Bharadwaj's daughter, Maaysha Singh. She sought immediate medical treatment, and interim bail for her mother, after raising concerns about her ailments. She also highlighted the rise in the number of COVID-19 cases being reported from the Byculla's women's prison, where Bharadwaj is lodged.

“In our view, a prisoner has the right to medical records under Article 21. All medical records, including the tests conducted and medicines prescribed, can be given to the petitioner. We go a step further to say that this order should apply to all prisoners,” said the court. It also stated that the prisoner should also be permitted to make a phone call to an approved family member, by the following protocol.

Last week, Maaysha claimed in her plea that her mother was not receiving medical treatment, despite the fact that she has co-morbidities. Nobody responded to the emails and calls that were made by her lawyers to the jail, she said.

However, it is reported that the state prison had informed the court that the Elgar Parishad accused was taken to the JJ Hospital for a check-up.

Yug Mohit Chaudhry and Payoshi Roy, the advocates who were appearing for Singh said that since Bharadwaj was treated, they were not going to press for other reliefs. This also included the interim bail on medical grounds.

They had earlier submitted a plea regarding Bharadwaj being imprisoned with other inmates without social distancing. After the Bombay High court gave its latest order, the petitioner claimed that the Bharadwaj had suffered for about three weeks before she was treated after the court was approached.