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It has been held by the Bombay High Court that it is the duty of the State government to provide free medical assistance to any inmate or prisoner. This has been a result of the petition filed by AjaySingh Dahiya, who is suffering from multiple sclerosis and is lodged in Mumbai Central Jail. The division bench of acting Chief Justice VK Tahilramani and Justice MS Sonak, have held that the prison authorities and the state will continue to provide necessary medicines, injections and treatment to the petitioner free of cost and if found necessary, the petitioner will be admitted in the hospital.
The petitioner’s reports show that he needs to be injected Avonex every week, which costs Rs. 10,000/unit, else the symptoms may reoccur. Dahiya’s lawyer has argued that his family cannot afford it, and as he is in custody, it is the duty of the state to pay for the treatment. The court has examined the position of law set by the Supreme Court in such a situation by looking at the following cases-
“The State, in such circumstances, cannot avoid its responsibility or require the petitioner or his relatives to arrange for such medicines, particularly when there is material on record which indicates that neither the petitioner nor his relatives are really in a position to afford such medicines,” the court said. Thereafter, all of the petitioner’s medical bills and treatment costs have been borne by the state. The court has directed the state to continue to do so.
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