HC calls for report on Sisodia wife’s health, reserves order on interim bail plea sought on account of her illness

On Friday the court directed the ED to verify the medical documents of Sisodia’s wife and file a report by Friday evening.

Appearing for the ED, advocate Zoheb Hossain said Saturday that there had been no change of circumstance with respect to the interim bail plea filed by Sisodia. “The prior prescription and the present prescription are identical…No direction is there for anything different, except for bed rest, ” he said.

Hossain vehemently opposed the interim bail on the ground that Sisodia’s wife had been suffering from the disease for the past 20 years, the court noted. He further submitted that an earlier interim bail application moved on identical grounds had been withdrawn by Sisodia and that he was not entitled to bail.

Appearing for Sisodia, senior advocate Mohit Mathur submitted, “Very conveniently it was said that there is no change in circumstances. If they want to say that the prescription of medication is the same therefore everything is the same…medication may remain the same, but please see what all has happened.”

Mathur drew the court’s attention to the medical documents of Sisodia’s wife and said that she was unable to “walk without assistance for more than a few metres” and that she suffered from “faecal incontinence”.

“The bowel movement…there is no control. It is a degenerative disease, there can be no improvement…he says that dramatic change has to be there. I don’t find this word dramatic anywhere in the CrPC, in any judgment. I could have understood a significant/substantial change but a dramatic change? It is a life we are talking about. Are we trying to say that a person’s life is so worthless that even if he is suffering from imprisonment…she won’t be entitled to have him, to take care of her,” Mathur said.

Mathur said that while his client was taken home in custody to see his wife today morning, her health condition had deteriorated and before he could reach there, she was taken to the LNJP hospital. He argued that Sisodia’s wife is “seriously sick” and that he be granted interim bail for six weeks.

“Even if she is in the ICU or in emergency, he can hardly be of any help, except to see her,” Mathur said, adding that the ED’s arguments “make multiple sclerosis a triviality”.

Hossain said that it was never his “suggestion at all” and he “never intended it to be”.

Mathur also submitted that the earlier interim bail application was withdrawn after the condition of Sisodia’s wife had stabilised.

The court noted that the ED had filed the report verifying the medical documents of Sisodia’s wife. “As per the report, the documents filed by the petitioner are found to be authenticated”, the HC said.

Hossain then said, “There is an FIR also registered. In the intervening night of the Supreme Court judgment on the services issue; there was unauthorised removal of several documents from the special secretary vigilance’s room, including documents relating to the excise scam. This FIR has been registered and there is material which demonstrates that documents and evidence which are available probably with the department continue to be tampered with”.

Mathur said this was nothing but an “argument on prejudice”. “One I’m not here in the open. Chargesheet stands filed by them on these very allegations. If they are talking of files relating to the excise scam, then are they still investigating?”

Justice Sharma reserved the order and asked the parties to file a written note on the submissions.

While granting permission to Sisodia to meet his wife between 10 am and 5 pm on Saturday, the court said Friday that the AAP leader “shall not interact with the media in any manner”, “not meet anybody except members of his family”, and “shall not have any access to the phone and internet”.