Varavara Rao has been accused of making inflammatory speeches at the Elgar Parishad conclave in 2017.
Wife of Telugu poet and writer Dr P Varavara Rao has moved the Supreme Court seeking the immediate release of her husband who has remained behind bars since August 2018 over his alleged involvement in the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon violence.
In her petition, Hemlatha Rao has said Varavara Rao's "continued custody amounts to cruelty and inhuman treatment, violating Article 21 of the Constitution of India and his dignity in custody".
The petition adds that when the 81-year-old was arrested he had no neurological problems, which were confirmed during his COVID-19 treatment at Mumbai's St George's Hospital in July this year.
"The health condition of the petitioner's husband is very feeble and he suffers from various comorbidities. It is therefore highly likely that COVID-19 and the fall that he had in St. George's Hospital led to neurological problems as reflected in the medical report filed by Nanavati Hospital dated 30.07.2020," the court has been told.
The petition adds that Ms Rao, her two daughters and brother had arrived in Mumbai and met Mr Rao, then Covid-positive, in JJ Hospital, where he was found "in a pitiable condition, in a pool of urine, without any nurse or attendant". He was sent back to jail after recovering from COVID-19 on August 28.
Mr Rao's wife and daughters have repeatedly sought bail for the activist on medical grounds and written to the central and state governments seeking information about his health after conflicting reports about his medical condition emerged in the media in May.
The family also wrote to the National Human Rights Commission, which then issued notices to the Maharashtra government asking it to ensure Mr Rao was taken care of and adequate medical facilities are arranged.
Mr Rao has been accused of making allegedly inflammatory speeches at Pune's Elgar Parishad conclave on December 31, 2017, which triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial located on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city.
He was first arrested from Hyderabad on August 28, 2018, after his extended house arrest ended. He and other accused in the Bhima Koregaon case were shifted to Mumbai's Arthur Raod jail in February this year after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the probe from the Pune Police.
The NIA had earlier opposed Mr Rao's bail plea in the High Court saying he was involved in anti-national activities and was trying to benefit from the pandemic.