Right to health: Supreme Court orders jail officials to examine Elgar case-accused Gautam Navlakha
India Today
A bench of Justices KM Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy asked the authorities of Tajola jail to treat Navlakha for all his ailments and allowed two of his sisters to visit him at the hospital during the visiting hours.
Stressing that there is a need to have a right to health and to live even for undertrials in the country, the Supreme court on Thursday gave interim relief to Gautam Navlakha who was seeking house arrest after he was denied regular bail.
A bench of Justices KM Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy asked the authorities of Tajola jail to treat Navlakha for all his ailments and allowed two of his sisters to visit him at the hospital during the visiting hours.
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the investigating agency, opposed Navlakha's plea, saying these tactics on health grounds were raised in the High Court but was rejected and the application was withdrawn by Navlakha.
"I agree on adopting the humanitarian approach towards the 73-year-old undertrial, but I would also like to point out that this will harm the national integrity of the country. These kinds of tactics should be discouraged," Mehta told the bench.
Also Read | Supreme Court takes cognizance of marital rape under abortion law
Opposing the submissions, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Navlakha, told the bench, "How can a 73-year-old man be a threat to national integrity if he goes and stays with his sister under house arrest?"
During the hearing, the bench asked the solicitor general to adopt a humanitarian approach in the case as the right to live and health is also applicable to undertrials.
