Calcutta HC directs Command Hospital to continue with Mallick’s treatment

Kolkata: Calcutta High Court’s single- judge bench of Justice Amrita Sinha on Thursday directed the city- based and defence- run Command Hospital to carry on with the treatment of arrested West Bengal Minister Jyotipriya Mallick till the time the Enforcement Directorate (ED) makes an alternative arrangement on this count.

Justice Sinha also directed the ED to arrange for Mallick’s medical check-up at the Command Hospital on every alternate day before he is presented to a special court in Kolkata for the next hearing. At the same time she also directed the central agency to make alternative arrangements on this count. She also directed ED to make the alternative arrangement by November 16.

Justice Sinha also directed the city police to ensure that common people do not unnecessarily enter Command Hospital or loiter around within its premises.

Mallick, the current state forest minister and the former state food & supplies minister, is in ED custody because if his alleged involvement in the multi- crore ration distribution case in West Bengal

On Thursday, the Command Hospital counsel informed the court that barring the Governor, no other civilian from the state can be treated at the hospital.

“Even political personalities and media persons are not allowed to enter Command Hospital. Only the treatment of the three wings of Indian armed forces personnel and their family members can be done there. The personnel of Assam Rifles are entitled for treatment there. There are several other centrally- run hospitals there in the state like AIIMS-Kalyani, BSF Hospital at Salt Lake and ESI Hospital at Joka and Railways Hospital. Let the treatment of the minister be arranged there,” the Command Hospital counsel argued.

In this counter-argument, the ED counsel and the deputy solicitor general Dhiraj Kumar Trivedi said that there are technical difficulties in taking the minister to AIIMS- Kalyani in Nadia district because of its distance from ED’s Salt Lake office where the minister is in custody now. ESI Hospital is not fit for his treatment. The accused being an influential person can allege that proper treatment facilities have not been extended to him,” Trivdei said.

A special court in Kolkata two weeks back directed that the necessary treatment of Mallick be done at the Command Hospital during his custody period, which started from Monday evening. However, the Command Hospital authorities then approached the same special court seeking revision of the order.

However, the special court rejected the plea for reconsideration of the previous order. Thereafter, last week the Command Hospital authorities approached the Calcutta High Court against the special court order.