Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Monday rejected the plea by the Elgaar Parishad case accused Telugu poet and activist Varavara Rao, who had sought permission for travelling to Hyderabad to undergo cataract surgery.
During the hearing, the Justice Sarang Kotwal turned down his application and asked the petitioner to re-apply before the division bench. Rao had approached the high court in this connection in November 2022.
"I cannot decide on this and the petitioner has to apply to the division bench because a single bench is not enough to decide such a matter," the judge said. The plea of Rao's lawyers to amend the original bail application was also rejected. Rao's lawyer Satyanarayana said: "We will request the court to go through all the supporting documents for undergoing the cataract surgery in Hyderabad." The matter will now be heard before the division bench.
Rao was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2018. The high court granted him bail for six months in February 2021 on medical grounds. In August 2022, the Supreme Court granted him bail on medical ground but directed that he should not leave Mumbai without permission from the special court of NIA.
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After which, Rao approached the NIA special court for permission to travel to his hometown in Hyderabad for undergoing cataract surgery in both eyes. He said that he could not afford the surgery in Mumbai as it was very expensive. Rao had argued that being a pension holder he was entitled to free medical treatment in Hyderabad. He also claimed that his family members were doctors and his elder daughter was an ophthalmologist so he could get better treatment there.
The special court, however, rejected the plea in September 2022 following which Rao moved the high court two months later.
