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Synopsis

The Delhi High Court on September 6, 2023 allowed excise policy case accused Amit Arora to be admitted to the hospital for post operative care after his surgery. 

A bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma observed that the jail might not have the requisite infrastructure for the care required by Amit Arora.

Amit Arora is one of the Directors of Buddy Retail Pvt. Ltd, who was arrested by the Directorate of Enforcement in connection with the alleged Delhi Excise Policy Scam case.

Senior Advocate Vikas Pahwa along with Advocates Prabhav Relli and Namisha Jain appearing for Arora submitted that Arora had been discharged from the Fortis Memorial Research Institute on August 31 wherein he had undergone Laproscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy. It was argued that considering the various medical conditions of Arora, he might be allowed interim bail for a period of three months.

Whereas, Special Counsel of ED, Zohaib Hossain contended that Arora had remained out of the Jail for about 164 days which included the interim bail as well as the hospitalization. The present surgery was also an elective surgery.

In view of the above, the bench noted, "Firstly, every person suffering from a medical ailment is entitled to an effective and appropriate medical treatment and secondly, the prosecution is also entitled for ensuring that the interim bail does not become a shortcut method to circumvent the rigors of the special legislation as Section 45 in the present case."

The bench stressed that the courts function on the golden principle of criminal jurisprudence that detention during the period of investigation and trial cannot be a punitive measure. "If a person is sick, he should be given appropriate medical treatment in order to at least enable him to face the trial ir accordance with the law," the bench said.

Considering the matter at hand, court directed Arora to be admitted to RML Hospital, however, Arora will remain in custody of Superintendent Jail at RML Hospital. Additionally, appropriate security guards will also be deployed with Arora.

Amit Arora’s name is mentioned both in the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation cases as accused along with Dinesh Arora, another director of Buddy Retail Pvt Ltd. Other accused persons include Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, the then Excise Commissioner Arva Gopi Krishna, Deputy Commissioner Anand Tiwari, and Assistant Commissioner Pankaj Bhatnagar, Manoj Rai, a former employee of Pernod Ricard; Amandeep Dhal, director of Brindco Sales; authorized signatories of Mahadev Liquors Sunny Marwah, Arun Ramchandra Pillai, Arjun Pandey, and others.

Case Title: Amit Arora Vs. Directorate of Enforcement