1984 riots convict Khokhar getting best treatment in jail: High Court

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Thursday queried the need for interim bail to a former Congress councillor, serving life term in a 1984 anti-sikh riots case, for availing medical treatment when he was getting the “best” healthcare from five top hospitals at state expense while in prison.

A bench of acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Anu Malhotra said that while the injury suffered by convict Balwan Khokhar was not life threatening, people outside suffering from serious ailments were able to get treatment from only one such hospital. “You are getting the best treatment from five hospitals (including the AIIMS, G B Pant, Ram Manohar Lohia) for your ailments at government expense. There is nothing critical or life threatening.”

“Even your transportation and security expenses are borne by the state. Someone outside with such difficulties or even life threatening diseases may be able to approach any one of the five hospitals,” the court remarked.

The court’s observations came during the hearing of Khokhar’s plea for interim bail on the ground that he wanted to undergo treatment at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital here for a hairline fracture on his nose.

The bench asked the Tihar jail superintendent to file a report on whether Khokhar had suffered any fracture. Khokhar’s counsel claimed that his client fell down in jail on December 17, 2017 and suffered the injury and there was a swelling on his face.