The Delhi High Court bench comprising Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia on Tuesday proposed shifting activist Sonam Wangchuk, who has been on an indefinite fast over alleged exam irregularities, from Safdarjung Hospital to Medanta Hospital in Gurugram.
The Bench was hearing a plea by the activist's wife, Gitanjali Angmo, against a Sunday order of the high court refusing to interfere with his treatment at the Safdarjung Hospital.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the Centre had no objection to Wangchuk being shifted to Medanta Hospital. However, he asserted that the activist should not seek discharge from Medanta Hospital against medical advice.
During the hearing, the court had a discussion with doctors from AIIMS who are monitoring Wangchuk's health status at Safdarjung Hospital, the activist's own doctor. It then observed that there was a consensus that he needed monitoring.
"We propose to shift him to Medanta (Hospital)," said the bench, adding that it would pass an order in the post-lunch session.
In her appeal, Angmo has contended that the single judge's Sunday order illegally confines Wangchuk to Safdarjung Hospital without any arrest and effectively directs that neither the activist nor his wife has decisive authority in determining his medical treatment.
In a special Sunday hearing, Justice Mini Pushkarna refused to interfere with Wangchuk's treatment at Safdarjung Hospital, stating that the government's removal of the fasting activist from Jantar Mantar to a government hospital could not be called arbitrary.
Angmo had sought an urgent hearing on her petition on Sunday, a day after Delhi Police whisked Wangchuk away from the protest site at Jantar Mantar and forcibly shifted him to Safdarjung Hospital on the 21st day of his hunger strike.
With inputs from PTI