The Delhi High Court on Friday directed the Tihar Jail Superintendent to ensure the provision of necessary medical treatment to Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik, who is undergoing a life sentence in a terror funding case.
Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta’s order came in response to Malik’s plea seeking directions from the court to refer him for essential medical treatment due to cardiac and kidney-related ailments.
His plea urges the Union Government and jail authorities to refer him to AIIMS or any other hospital for required medical attention.
The government’s counsel, Rajat Nair, opposed the petition, citing serious suppression of facts and said that Malik had denied treatment by the AIIMS medical board.
Nair argued that Malik could be examined as an outpatient in jail, and arrangements for his medical treatment could be made within the prison, considering him a high-risk prisoner not permitted physical admission to a hospital.
In response, Malik’s counsel expressed concern about the potential impact on his health due to a change in treating doctors.
The court adjourned the matter to February 14, when it will also hear the NIA’s plea seeking death penalty for Malik, who pleaded guilty in May 2022 and was sentenced to life imprisonment by a special court in the terror funding case after being convicted of offences under various sections of IPC.
NIA has challenged the trial court order to seek the death penalty for Malik.
On Friday, the court sought instructions from Malik’s counsel regarding his preference for treatment by AIIMS doctors or doctors of his choice.
Meanwhile, the court directed the Tihar Jail Superintendent to ensure that any required treatment for the petitioner is duly provided within the jail hospital.
