Madras HC moved to shift Saravana Bhavan owner P Rajagopal to Private Hospital for treatment

A plea has been filed in the Madras High Court to shift P Rajagopal, founder of the restaurant chain Saravana Bhavan, whose conviction in a murder case was confirmed earlier this year, to a private hospital in view of his deteriorating health condition..The petition filed by his son, P Saravanan, states,.“… my father is 72 years of age and at the time of judgment by the Hon’ble Supreme Court, he was seriously ill and im-mobilized and he is in bedridden condition with due care of attendance of two attenders 24 hours every day…..… I submit that the physical condition of my father is so bad and requires intense care and medication constantly which will not be available in the prison conditions. Eventhough the prison has basic medical facilities the same will not be sufficient to meet the requirements of my father. “.While the plea is yet to be taken up by the High Court, it is reported that Rajagopal is currently in critical condition following a heart attack on Saturday..In March this year, the Supreme Court confirmed a life imprisonment sentence for the Saravana Bhavan owner, along with five others. Rajagopal was found guilty of having murdered an employee working at the Saravana Bhavan establishment in order to marry the employee’s wife. Following his conviction, he had been expected to surrender before the court or the local police on July 7 to commence his sentence of life imprisonment. However, he failed to do so..An urgent plea was subsequently moved before the Supreme Court seeking extension of time to surrender, in view of Rajagopal’s poor health condition. On July 9, the Supreme Court rejected plea on the ground that the medical condition of the accused should have been brought on record during the proceedings in the case. The same day, Rajagopal was brought to the the IVth Additional Sessions Court at Chennai in an ambulance to surrender..As per the affidavit filed by his son before the Madras High Court, Rajagopal’s health condition has since worsened. It states that the prison authorities shifted Rajagopal to Stanley Medical College and Hospital, Chennai on the day of his surrender. However, since this hospital was not equipped to take care of Rajagopal in tune with his health regimen thus far, his condition deteriorated substantially. As stated in the plea,.“In view of the sudden change in the nature of drugs and a change in the treatment, his condition started deteriorating and during the midnight on 13.7.2019, he has suffered a cardiac arrest and he was able to recover only on 14.7.2019 morning. The doctors have also advised ABG blood test and even the said facilities are not available in Stanley Medical College and test had been sent to Hi-Tech lab.”.Inter alia, it is stated that Rajagopal suffers from chronic diabetes, owing to which he has a a kidney condition as well, heart problems, difficulty in walking owing to various conditions, acute gastroenteritis etc. apart from multiple systemic diseases..“… my father requires intense medical care with specialised equipment for his survival. He also requires the assistance of at least two persons to do his day to day basic activities.“.A representation made to the concerned authorities to shift Rajagopal to better equipped private hospital yielded no response. Hence, the Madras High Court has now been approached with a prayer to facilitate the same. The plea submits,.“… if he [Rajagopal] is given proper medical care and attention, his condition may improve. However, since he is kept in Stanley Medical College, Kilpauk where no such facilities are available, his condition is deteriorating. We undertake to abide by any conditions imposed by this Hon’ble Court and pray that this Hon’ble Court may be pleased to grant directions to the Respondents to shift my father P Rajagopal … to any other private hospital private medical hospital preferably Vijaya Primary Health Centre or SRM Instt. of Medical Sciences where all medical facilities are available. Otherwise his condition would deteriorate every minute and his health condition would become worsen. .Keeping him in Stanley Medical College & Hospital without shifting him to a private hospital for appropriate medical treatment and attention is violation of Rights ie guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. There is no justification for the Respondents to refuse to shift my father to appropriate hospital in this precarious condition.“.Image Credit: Mahesh Shantaram for The New York Times