New Delhi: The Supreme Court Wednesday was disappointed to learn that an undertrial lodged in the Manipur Central Jail could not be taken to a hospital for medical examination because the prevailing law and order situation was allegedly not conducive for a Kuki in the strife-torn state.
A vacation bench, led by Justice J.B. Pardiwala, was hearing the undertrial’s appeal against the Manipur High Court’s February 2024 order that had denied him bail for treatment from a hospital outside the state.
The undertrial had sought bail to travel out of the state, contending that he could not be treated in Manipur because of the ongoing ethnic clashes.
The high court had turned down the plea on the ground that his health was not so serious – that would require him to go out – and that he could receive the treatment in jail.
The high court bail order dated 29 February 2024 was challenged in March. The high court had rejected the bail on the grounds that the applicant does not suffer from a life-threatening illness and given the quantity of the illegal contraband seized from his custody. The undertrial was arrested in October 2022 under the anti-drug law or the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. As per his appeal in the top court, his health is now in a “potentially life-threatening situation”. It called the high court order erroneous because despite acknowledging the undertrial needed immediate medical examination and the hospital was unable to provide it, the court concluded that his illness was “not life-threatening”.
The high court order, it said, also noted that the undertrial cannot be given the examination facility outside the jail since he belongs to the Kuki community and taking him to a hospital would put his life at stake due to the present law and order situation there.
The appeal mentioned that the high court failed to consider that as per the undertrial’s medical report, he was given medication that did not result in any “satisfactory improvement”.
The top court on Wednesday found worrying that the high court had observed the undertrial could not be taken out of jail as he was a Kuki and it would be hazardous to do so because of the prevailing law and order situation.
“However, we noticed something very disturbing. It appears that the petitioner is suffering from piles and tuberculosis. He has also complained before jail authorities of severe back pain,” the Supreme Court bench noted in its order. It directed the state to make immediate arrangements to get the undertrial medically examined in the Gauhati Medical College in Assam.
The court fixed 15 July to hear the matter again and directed the Manipur government to place the undertrial’s detailed medical examination before that day. It also directed the state to bear all expenses that would be incurred for the procedure.
The bench was surprised that despite a medical officer’s note last November, the undertrial was not given adequate medical attention. “On 22 November 2023 the medical officer examined and noticed tenderness in the lower spine and recommended an X-ray of the same, but unfortunately such facility was not available at Manipur Central Jail,” it observed in its order.
Justice Pardiwala verbally instructed the Manipur state counsel to impress upon authorities that the undertrial should be taken to the hospital in terms of its direction. “Take it from us, Mr Counsel, as an officer of the court, not as a counsel of the state, impress upon the authorities that this man should be taken,” he said.
The bench said it could have given a finding against the state government as well as the high court in its order, but was refraining from doing so.
According to the state counsel the government constituted a board subsequent to an earlier direction of the top court. The undertrial, the bench was informed, was getting the treatment in terms of the board’s advice.
Ethnic clashes between the Meiteis and Kukis erupted last May and have so far claimed over 200 lives and displaced at least 60,000 people.
This is an updated version of the report
(Edited by Tikli Basu)