Nawab Malik getting adequate treatment, his right to health not curtailed: Bombay HC on refusing him medical bail

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Nationalist Congress Party leader Nawab Malik is getting «specialized medical assistance» and his right to health or right to life is not infringed in any manner, said the Bombay High Court while refusing him medical bail in a money laundering case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The HC further said Malik's medical report does not indicate he is suffering from any critical ailment. On the contrary, the report says the former state minister does not need further hospitalization, the HC observed.

A single bench of Justice Anuja Prabhudessai had rejected Malik's plea seeking bail on medical grounds on July 13. The detailed order was made available on Saturday.Malik was arrested in February 2022 by the ED in a case linked to alleged activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his associates. He is in judicial custody and currently undergoing treatment in a private hospital here.

Malik's counsel Amit Desai had argued his client's health was deteriorating over the last eight months and he was in stage 2 to stage 3 of chronic kidney disease. In its order, the HC bench said there can be no dispute that the right to health is recognized as an important facet of Article 21 (of the Constitution). «It is a right available to every person, including an under trial prisoner or convict.

In fact, failure of the state to provide proper medical aid to prisoners, who are largely dependent on the jail authorities, would be in violation of the right guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution,» the HC order said. In the instant case, Malik has several pre-existing ailments, it observed. He was admitted to the state-run JJ Hospital in Mumbai from February 25 to 28, 2022 and on subsequent dates.