The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has opposed the plea filed by former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh seeking permission to avail of medical treatment at a private hospital saying that he could undergo similar treatment at the state-run JJ Hospital in Mumbai.
The ED submitted its affidavit before the special court on Monday.
Deshmukh was arrested by the ED last November in an alleged money laundering case. He was subsequently arrested by the CBI this April in a corruption case. At present, he is in judicial custody.
According to the ED's affidavit, the doctors who treated Deshmukh at the JJ hospital suggested that the former minister required surgery for his shoulder. However, it needs not be done in an emergency. The doctors at the JJ Hospital are well-equipped and qualified to perform the surgery and hence Deshmukh need not be admitted to a private hospital.
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The investigating agency has further contended that Deshmukh has a long history of shoulder dislocation, and surgery can be considered in the future. “It is further submitted that Dr Ankit Marfatia, Expert Arthroscopy Surgeon and Assistant Professor of JJ hospital, has performed 30-35 shoulder related surgeries similar to that of the applicant (Deshmukh) and he has also done his specialization in Arthroscopy surgery,” read the ED affidavit.
The ED emphasised that the former minister did not require hospitalisation at a private hospital and he could get the treatment at JJ Hospital itself.
However, Deshmukh's advocate Aniket Nikam argued that it was the NCP leader's right to get medical treatment at a hospital and doctor of his choice. Admitting that Deshmukh has a history of shoulder dislocation, Nikam said that same has worsened after his fall in jail.
Nikam said: “His (Deshmukh's) pain is not subsiding and he has been advised surgery by JJ Hospital. Deshmukh wishes to undergo this surgery at a hospital and doctors of his choice. He is a senior citizen, and hence during surgery, his heart condition will also have to be monitored.”
Further, Nikam contended that Deshmukh was willing to bear the expenses of the surgery and hence the prosecuting agency (ED) cannot insist on him getting treated at a government hospital.
The ED has claimed that Deshmukh had misused his official position and collected Rs 4.70 crore from various bars in Mumbai when he was the home minister. A probe was launched after a complaint by former police commissioner Param Bir Singh.
The money was laundered to Nagpur-based Shri Sai Shikshan Sansthan, an educational trust controlled by the Deshmukh family, it alleged.
The special court will pass order on Deshmukh's plea on May 10.
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