The Delhi High Court has directed Tihar Jail authorities to provide urgent and appropriate medical treatment to separatist leader Yasin Malik, serving a life sentence, and ensure hospitalization outside the prison if required due to his health condition.
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NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Friday issued a directive to the Tihar Jail authorities to ensure that separatist leader Yasin Malik receives appropriate medical treatment while serving his life sentence in a terror funding case. The order came after a petition was filed raising concerns over Malik’s medical condition.
Justice Neena Bansal Krishna, while disposing of the plea, noted that according to the medical report submitted by Tihar Jail officials, Malik does not currently appear to be suffering from any life-threatening ailment. The judge stated that if the required treatment is not available within the jail premises, Malik must be taken to a hospital equipped with the needed facilities.
“Apparently from the report received from Tihar Jail, it does not seem that he is suffering from any life-threatening ailment,”
the court observed.
The court acknowledged that Malik’s petition included medical papers from 2017, which may not reflect his present status.
Malik’s counsel argued that he is a cardiac patient and claimed there is no cardiologist inside Tihar Jail, urging the court to allow his treatment at AIIMS or any other super-speciality hospital in Delhi or Srinagar.
Counsel representing the central government opposed the request, asserting that Malik is a high-risk prisoner and that a recent official communication restricts his movement outside Tihar and the jurisdiction of the national capital.
They also informed the court that Malik went on hunger strikes several times, July 2022, December 2023, August 2024, and September 2024, during which he refused food and medicines, requiring emergency medical responses to prevent life-threatening outcomes.
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Background
Yasin Malik, chief of the Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), was sentenced to life imprisonment on May 24, 2022, after being convicted under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed an appeal seeking enhancement of his punishment to the death penalty.
Court’s Final Direction
The High Court concluded:
“The petition is disposed of with direction to the jail authorities to provide appropriate medical treatment as per his condition and in case the said treatment is not available there, the same may be provided in the hospitals having the requisite facility.”
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