State assures medical check for Navlakha
Activist Gautam Navlakha is lodged in Taloja jail; he moved HC for medical examination of a lump in chest; fears it could be malignant
The Bombay High Court on Thursday informed that arrested activist Gautam Navlakha will be taken to Navi Mumbai-based Tata Memorial Centre to examine a lump in his chest.
This comes on a plea filed by Navlakha, 70, seeking to be kept in house arrest instead of continuing his custody in Taloja jail. He sought his house arrest till the trial in the Bhima-Koregaon violence case concludes. During the hearing, advocate Yug Chaudhary for Navlakha pointed out that his client developed a lump in his chest in March this year, but the prison authorities haven’t taken any decision yet on his multiple requests to get it examined, especially since he fears it could be malignant (cancerous).
Chaudhary urged the bench of Justices Sambhaji Shinde and Nijamoodin Jamadar to allow Navlakha to be examined
The prison authorities haven’t taken any decision yet on his multiple requests to get the lump examined, especially since he fears it could be malignant (cancerous). –YUG CHAUDHARY, Gautam Navlakha‘s advocate
at Jaslok Hospital, where his sister is a nurse.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Anil Singh for the NIA opposed the request. He said Navlakha could instead be examined at any government hospital or the Tata Memorial hospital in Kharghar.
Agreeing with the ASG’s submission, Chaudhary said they weren’t insisting on any particular hospital, but claimed vindictiveness on part of the NIA despite the fact that Navlakha was ready to pay for the tests. He said the activist has even been denied a chair to sit. The bench said Navlakha can make a separate application to be examined at Jaslok hospital..
However, Chaudhary said as of now the priority was to thoroughly examine the lump and thus they were okay to get it tested at Tata Memorial Centre. The state prosecutor said the activist will be taken to the hospital on Friday morning.
The matter will be next heard on September 27.