The sessions judge issued a notice to the Superintendent and CMO asking why directions were not followed and why action should not be taken against them for committing a breach of court orders.
A sessions court issued a notice against the prison Superintendent and CMO at Taloja Central Prison for not following the court orders and taking Gadling to hospital last year. (File Photo)
By Vidya S: A Sessions court at Gadchiroli, Maharashtra issued a notice against the Prisoner Superintendent and Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at Taloja Central Prison, for not following the court orders of taking advocate Surendra Gadling to hospital last year.
On January 12, Sessions Judge UB Shukla passed an order to issue notice to the Superintendent and CMO explaining why directions given by the court were not followed and why action should not be taken against them for committing a breach of court orders.
Sessions Judge UB Shukla passed this order on the plea filed by Gadling, pointing out that about a year ago he had told the court that he was “feeling anxiety and depression” and that he was deprived of medicine for depression and anxiety.
On February 8, 2022, the court directed Gadling, who is an accused in the Bhima Koregaon caste violence case of 2018, to be referred to the State-run JJ Hospital for psychiatric treatment.
The jail authorities and the Medical Superintendent were directed to conduct a thorough medical examination of the accused and provide him with all necessary medical treatment and medications, including those for diabetics and hypertension, for which the accused had filed a grievance with the court.
“The jail authority shall provide the facility of a visiting psychiatrist to the jail hospital at the earliest and to provide all necessary help to the accused for his grievance regarding anxiety and depression and all other ailments,” stated Judge Shukla in his court orders.
Gadling filed a petition in September 2022, claiming that the prison authorities never took him to the State-run JJ hospital in Mumbai on the “follow-up” days that the hospital requested. He further said that he was only taken to the hospital after a month or two because the prison authorities stated that a police escort wasn’t available to take him to the hospital.
According to Gadling, the medical tests that were prescribed by the doctors were never carried out. The plea pointed out that “due to criminal negligence” on the part of the CMO and prison authorities, Gadling’s health deteriorated.
After the CMO claimed that an external doctor checked on Gadling while in the prison, Gadling demanded a Right to Information (RTI) reply from the prison authorities to prove the CMO’s claim.
Also Read: Bhima Koregaon: How symbol of British imperialism became emblem of Dalit pride
WHO IS SURENDRA GADLING?
Surendra Gadling has been lodged at Taloja prison in Navi Mumbai, where he is facing prosecution regarding the 2018 Elgar Parishad case of Pune, in which provocative speeches were allegedly made, resulting in riots at Bhima Koregaon on January 1, 2018.
Gadling was also charged in the 2016 Surajgarh arson case, in which the Maoists allegedly set fire to around 80 vehicles that were transporting iron ore from Surajgarh mines in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra.
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