Farhan Ansar Suse vs. National Investigation Agency & Ors.
Background
The appellant, in judicial custody and charge-sheeted by the National Investigation Agency for alleged links to an ISIS-related conspiracy involving extortion and recruitment activity in Maharashtra, sought interim bail because he needed surgery for an umbilical hernia along with treatment for asthma and diabetes. A special NIA court had rejected his interim bail application, noting he was already receiving treatment at a government hospital (DDU Hospital) in Delhi. He asked the High Court to instead let him undergo private treatment in Mumbai, near his family.
Decision Breakdown
The Court accepted that a medically unwell undertrial cannot be barred from seeking treatment at a private hospital of his choice at his own expense, and granted him custody bail for 30 days to be admitted at a private hospital in the Delhi/NCR region while remaining formally in custody. However, given the serious nature of the allegations and his alleged network in Maharashtra, the Court refused to allow him to travel to Mumbai for treatment, restricting the arrangement to Delhi/NCR, limiting visitors to two immediate family members, and barring any contact with persons named in the chargesheet.
Lesson Learnt
Courts will accommodate a genuine medical need even for a serious under-trial prisoner by allowing private treatment in custody, but they will carefully calibrate the location and conditions of any such release to prevent it from being misused to reconnect with an alleged criminal network.