Court irked by transfer of Covid-19 patient to hospital without permission

Court rebukes jail officials

KARACHI: An accountability court expressed on Saturday annoyance over Prisons IGP Nusrat Mangan and Central Jail superintendent Hassan Sahito over shifting a Covid-19 positive prisoner, 73-year-old Akbar Minhas, to the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) without the court's permission.

"The report regarding the inmate's transfer to the hospital was submitted to the court after Eidul Fitr, while he was shifted to NICVD before Eid, and that too without the court's permission," the court stated, expressing its ire.

It directed jail officials not to shift any prisoners to hospital without the court's permission, maintaining that in case an inmate needed to be taken to a healthcare facility in urgency, a report on the matter was to be submitted to the court on priority basis.

On Friday, the Sindh High Court (SHC) had directed jail authorities to provide all necessary medical assistance to Minhas, while deferring his bail plea.

The inmate's counsel had informed the SHC that Minhas was suffering from multiple ailments besides coronavirus, including asthma and chronic bronchitis.

Stating that a case pertaining to the release of prisoners amid the pandemic was being heard by the Supreme Court, the SHC bench had directed the counsel to approach the apex court on the matter. It had further declined the plea to shift Minhas to a private facility for treatment, while ordering jail authorities to ensure all possible medical assistance to the petitioner.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 7^th, 2020.