Now, Surjeet suffers Dumping Syndrome

Advocates for Harkishen Singh Surjeet (90), senior leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), told the court on Tuesday that he is su...

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Advocates for Harkishen Singh Surjeet (90), senior leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), told the court on Tuesday that he is suffering from a stomach disorder called Dumping Syndrome.

Surjeet had been summoned in the defamation suit filed by actor and former censor board chairman Anupam Kher. When he failed to appear on Tuesday, Metropolitan Magistrate M H Belosay issued a bailable warrant against him.

The court has now ordered him to give a surety of Rs 10,000 to avoid arrest and appear in person on April 25.

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Surjeet had failed to appear on an earlier summons too, on February 17, citing reasons of ‘‘ill-health’’.

On Tuesday, Surjeet’s lawyer Mohan Pungalia submitted a medical certificate to the court, stating that Surjeet had a fall and ‘‘has been suffering from hypertension, Dumping Syndrome, abdominal aneurysm and occasional giddiness’’ for which he was hospitalised at Metro Hospitals and Heart Institute, Noida.

Deepak Tandon, medical director of the MHHI and the man who signed the certificate, confirmed Surjeet’s illness. ‘‘He fell down in his house and was hospitalised on March 10 with internal bleeding and shoulder and head injuries,’’ Tandon said. ‘‘He was discharged the next day and needs regular physical therapy.’’

Kher is suing Surjeet for allegations directed against him in an article titled ‘Desaffronise Our Institutions’. The article said Kher subscribed to the Hindutva ideology of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Kher is now claiming the allegations were the reason behind his removal from the censor board. On Tuesday, Kher appeared pleased and determined. ‘‘I will fight this to the end,’’ he said.

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Dumping sydrome is a relatively rare disorder in which food in the stomach passes to the small intestine undigested. Symptoms include abdominal pain and cramping, bloating, diarrhoea and dizziness. Patients often suffer from low blood sugar.