The Supreme Court on Thursday permitted Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Pappu Yadav to take oath as member of Parliament on March 21.

But the court rejected his plea to visit his Madhepura constituency to "oversee" utilisation of Member of Parliament Local Area Development Fund.

A bench comprising Justice N Santosh Hegde and Justice S B Sinha, which heard Yadav's application, also told the Directorate General of Health Services to depute a doctor for his medical examination.

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Yadav's counsel Rakesh Kumar Singh said Yadav's health had deteriorated due to lack of medical facilities and said his weight had reached 200 kg.

He said Yadav was worried about his cardiac health.

A wound on the leg had also become worse and required immediate attention, he added.

• Shift Pappu Yadav to Tihar: SC

The Bench said that the applicant was out of jail for a long time before the court cancelled his bail in the Ajit Sarkar murder case and put him back in jail.

The bench wondered why he did not take proper medical help when he was out of the jail.

On February 14, the court ordered that Yadav should be shifted from Beur Jail in Patna to the high-security Tihar Jail in Delhi after he abused his position as a powerful politician to win undue favours from the Beur Jail staff in Patna.