Land For Jobs Scam: Delhi High Court Orders Medical Evaluation Of Lalu Yadav's Aide Amit Katyal Hauled Up In PMLA Case

The Delhi High Court has constituted a medical board of AIIMS to evaluate the condition of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav's close aide Amit Katyal, who is in custody in a money laundering case related to the alleged land-for-jobs scam case.

Justice Vikas Mahajan was dealing with Katyal's plea seeking his release on humanitarian and medical grounds.

The court directed the Director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to immediately constitute a Medical Board of Doctors from minimum three different specialties regarding the nature of ailments Katyal claimed to be suffering from.

“The Jail Superintendent is directed to furnish all medical records of the petitioner to the Medical Board of Doctors so constituted on or before 11.06.2024. The pairokar of the petitioner is also at liberty to furnish the relevant medical records of the petitioner to the Board, with a copy thereof to the learned Special Counsel for the Directorate of Enforcement,” the court said.

It added that after Katyal's evaluation, the Medical Board shall furnish its report to the court on or before June 14 specifically stating if his ailments warrant any specialized or more sustained treatment, personal care and special diet which cannot be provided to him in the primary healthcare facility of Jail.

The matter will now be heard on June 17 before the vacation bench.

Justice Mahajan said that the medical status report did not disclose the underlying aliment from which Katyal was stated to be suffering from, to enable the Court to arrive at a conclusion if he required sustained specialized treatment.

“In the absence of an opinion of the experts it is difficult for this Court to come to the conclusion as to whether it is a case for grant of interim bail on the medical grounds. The Court cannot assume the role of an expert and make assessment of its own as regard the medical condition of the petitioner on the basis of medical records placed on the Court file,” the court said.

It added that on humanitarian grounds, Katyal's medical condition could not be simply brushed aside given the fact that there was material on record suggesting that he was a heart patient and had undergone bariatric surgery recently besides having other ailments.

Counsel for Petitioner: Mr. Kapil Sibal, Mr. Vikas Pahwa, Sr. Advs. with Ms. Bina Gupta, Mr. Gurpreet Singh, Mr. Bakul Jain, Mr. Shiv Vinayak Gupta, Mr. Jatin Sethi, Ms. Sheena Taqui, Ms. Akansha Saini and Ms. Rupali Samuel, Advs

Counsel for Respondent: Mr. Zoheb Hossain, Special Counsel with Mr. Vivek Gurnani, Adv

Title: AMIT KATYAL v. DIRECTORATE OFENFORCEMENT GOVERNMENT OFINDIA

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Del) 709

Click here to read order