The Bombay High Court on Friday granted a temporary bail to former Delhi University professor Hany Babu, one of the accused persons in the Elgar Parishad case, to undergo cataract surgery, PTI reported.

A bench of Justices Ajay Gadkari and Prakash Naik passed the order. They also directed the Superintendent of the Taloja Central Prison to transfer Babu to Mumbai’s Saifee Hospital by December 19, according to Live Law.

Babu had approached the court seeking interim bail on health grounds for three months. He had also sought interim release from jail for cataract surgery and treatment for his upper abdominal pain and osteoarthritis at a private hospital at his own expense.

In September, his regular bail plea was rejected by the Bombay High Court.

At Friday’s hearing, advocate Yug Chaudhary, appearing for Babu, told the bench that he would not press the prayer for three months of interim medical bail, as mentioned in the petition, according to Bar and Bench. He, however, did not give any reason.

Special Public Prosecutor Sadesh Patil and Advocate Chintan Shah, appearing on behalf of the National Investigation Agency opposed Babu’s plea. They argued that the former Delhi University professor could easily undergo treatment at the state-run JJ Hospital in Mumbai.

In Friday’s order the Bombay High Court said that Babu can stay in the hospital for four days after his surgery, during which he can undergo a diagnosis for his upper abdominal pain and osteoarthritis, according to Live Law.

The bench also allowed him to meet his close family members during his stay in the hospital. “He would be escorted by two constables throughout his stay in the hospital,” the judges said, reported Bar and Bench.

The Elgar Parishad event took place in Pune on December 31, 2017, a day before violent clashes broke out between Maratha and Dalit groups near the Bhima Koregaon village in Maharashtra. Sixteen people were arrested for allegedly plotting the violence.

The National Investigation Agency has alleged that the event was part of a larger Maoist conspiracy to stoke caste violence, destabilise the central government and assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Babu was arrested in July 2020, and has been lodged at the Taloja Central Jail in Navi Mumbai since then. The National Investigation Agency has accused him of being a member of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) and being involved in the conspiracy to assassinate Modi.

In June, an article in the Wired magazine had said that the Pune Police had hacked electronic devices owned by Babu and two other accused persons – Rona Wilson and Varavara Rao – and planted fake evidence on them.