'Continued Incarceration May Hasten Impending Death' : Terminally Ill Alleged Naxal Woman Moves Bombay High Court For Palliative Care

Noting the pitiable conditions inside the prison, the Bombay High Court has decided to consider a terminally ill, alleged Naxal woman's case for palliative care during what she calls "the end stage of her terminal illness." However, the court questioned her decision not to seek medical bail but only palliative care at Shanti Avedna Sadan hospice as a relief. The court further asked her to amend her petition either seeking bail or to cite reasons as to why she wasn't seeking bail. "If you come to court for bail and seek palliative care, we can understand. How do you only ask for palliative care? Inside the court, we can have dialogues; outside, we don't know how the order will be interpreted. You mention your reasons not to seek bail and we can mention it in the order," the court said. A division bench of Justices SS Shinde and NJ Jamadar heard Gadchiroli IED Blast Case accused Nirmala Kumari Uppuganti (59)'s petition to be shifted from Byculla Women's Prison to a hospice in Bandra until further orders. Uppunganti suffers from multiple skeletal metastases (cancer), which has plagued her entire body, including her lungs, skull and liver. She is also a stage 4 breast cancer patient, according to a report from Tata Memorial Hospital. "The fact is that she's dying. She is developing ancillary diseases inside prison. After radiation, she is kept in a solitary cell but there are pigeon droppings all over, giving her an allergy. It is very unhygienic. She finds it difficult to sit inside the jeep to go to the hospital. This dark cell is no way for her to die," advocate Payoshi Roy representing Uppuganti argued. "We haven't asked for bail because she has nowhere to go. Her husband is also in custody", Roy added. Opposing the prayer for palliative care at a hospice, Public Prosecutor Sangeeta Shinde for the State submitted that Uppuganti was regularly taken for treatment at Tata Memorial Hospital and she wasn't bedridden. Therefore she could remain in prison. "Have you seen the jail? Have you seen the condition?... as it reveals from the report, she is at a very serious stage", Justice Shinde asked point-blank. "You see, treatment is not an issue, she needs someone to attend to her," Justice Jamadar added. The court wondered how directions could be given to the private trust. Roy assured the court that the institution has agreed to care for her in principle. "Can you tell them that the court may entertain the petition but it wants something in writing?" Justice Shinde asked. Roy said the court may put it in the order. The bench however, adjourned the case for Monday granting Roy time to amend the plea. Background Lodged in Byculla Women's Prison since her arrest in the Gadchiroli IED Blasts in 2019, Uppunganti alleges that Byculla prison officials violated their constitutional duty to protect her, resulting in further deterioration in prison. According to the petition, Uppunganti was first detected with cancer in 2016. She was being treated at the Tata Memorial Hospital through her incarceration. However, her treating doctors recently suggested pain management after learning that cancer has spread to the brain. "Byculla Prison does not have basic amenities, which are bare minimum requirements for an ordinary life with dignity... The petitioner, who is terminally ill and in excruciating pain, requires specialized care and nursing such that her remaining life is tolerable and retains and a modicum of dignity. However, in Byculla prison, the petitioner doesn't even have access to basic facilities required by a young and healthy person," the plea reads. The plea highlights how the critically ill cancer patient is forced to sleep on the hard floor without a cot, bathe in cold water and manage without pain relief medication. On July 7, 2021, Uppunganti informed Roy that she is unable to eat or sleep. "…each waking moment was a living hell, and she was no longer able to bear the pain," the plea adds. Uppunganti has sought daily calls to her husband, a hot water bag, mattress, sanitized bathrooms, medicines and attendants till the petition is decided. Over a month after an improvised explosive device (IED) blast killed 15 personnel of the Quick Response Team and a private vehicle's driver in Gadchiroli, police arrested two senior operatives of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist): Uppuganti (58) and her husband Satyanarayana (70). The NIA accused the two of playing a "major role" in planning the attack.Case Title: Nirmala Kumari Uppuganti v. State of Maharashtra

'Continued Incarceration May Hasten Impending Death' : Terminally Ill Alleged Naxal Woman Moves Bombay High Court For Palliative Care

Sharmeen Hakim

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