Elgar Parishad case: Varavara Rao seeks permission to visit Hyderabad for surgery

Mumbai: Dr Varavara Rao, a Telugu poet and an accused in the Bhima-Koregaon Maoist link case, has approached the Bombay High Court seeking court permission to travel to Hyderabad for 3 months for cataract surgery.

Sandesh Patil, advocate of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) pointed out to the court that the HC had earlier granted him temporary bail. He also said that the order granting bail states that surgery can be done after 6-8 months. Patil also said that there was also a Supreme Court direction which said that he shall not leave the jurisdiction of Mumbai court without express permission. 

He is a dangerous criminal: NIA lawyer

“He is outside, on bail. Cataract requires an hour’s time. He can go to Mumbai and get it done. We are saying he is a dangerous criminal, there are serious charges against him,” said Patil. 

When Satyanarayanan said that he will have to check whether Rao will get free treatment in Hyderabad, justice Borkar remarked that his plea contended that he wanted to go to Hyderabad since he will get free treatment there. 

Satyanarayanan said that there are rules of the Andhra Pradesh State government that pensioners get free treatment upto 2 lakhs. 

The bench however kept the plea for hearing on June 5 and asked NIA to file its reply.