Elgaar Parishad Case: Court allows Gadling access to ayurvedic medicines, table & chair

In his plea, Gadling said the new superintendent of Taloja jail stopped him from carrying the medicines in November . Gadling also told the court the medical officer of the jail is an ayurvedic doctor and superintendent’s arbitrary decision was contempt of the court’s previous order.

Special Judge Dinesh E Kothalikar said that the earlier order stated that Gadling could be allowed access to ayurvedic medicines in jail at the advice of the jail doctor. “Considering the aforementioned order in fact, the superintendent of Taloja Central Prison had no reason to disallow the applicant from carrying the ayurvedic medicines,” the court said. It directed prison authorities to verify the authenticity of the medicines.

In another order, the court allowed Gadling to use a plastic chair and table in jail. Gadling had submitted that he is 55 and suffers from various ailments, due to which he is unable to sit on the ground for a long duration. Gadling said that he is a lawyer who is representing himself in court and he requires to study for long hours.

“It is undisputed that the applicant is representing himself and considering the seriousness of the allegations and the large number of documents filed along with the chargesheet, the applicant is required to study the same for hours together. In this background it would be just to allow the applicant to use plastic chair and an adequate table for study in the prison,” the court said.

It said that the jail authority had not disputed Gadling’s medical condition. It also said that the contention raised by the superintendent — that Gadling could harm himself if provided a chair and table — was unfounded.

But the court rejected a plea by Gadling seeking access to a shaving kit, stating that facility of haircuts and shaving was available in jail. It also said that if he was allowed a kit, it would ‘open floodgates’ of such requests and it would be difficult for prison authorities to manage the situation.

Meanwhile, Gadling has also filed a complaint before a court in Navi Mumbai and the police station at Kharghar, seeking registration of FIR against jail officials, claiming that they are disobeying the court order.