Stan Swamy’s medical records submitted in court, HC seeks reply from NIA, prison dept

The HC asked the authorities to respond on July 19 to Swamy’s counsel's claims of apathy and lack of medical facilities, despite the octogenarian suffering from multiple ailments that required close monitoring.

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday asked the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Maharashtra prison department to study the medical reports of Elgaar Parishad case accused Father Stan Swamy, the Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist who breathed his last in a private hospital in Mumbai on July 5, an hour before his medical bail plea was to be heard by the HC.

The HC asked the authorities to respond on July 19 to Swamy’s counsel’s claims of apathy and lack of medical facilities, despite the octogenarian suffering from multiple ailments that required close monitoring.

As per a May 28 HC order, Swamy was shifted from Taloja Central Jail in Navi Mumbai to Holy Family Hospital at Bandra in Mumbai. He was asked to bear the cost of his treatment.

Senior counsel Mihir Desai, representing Swamy, had earlier said that while he did not have complaints against the Holy Family Hospital, Swamy’s health deteriorated due to “negligence on part of the NIA and the Maharashtra prison authorities”, who had failed to provide him timely and adequate treatment.

While seeking his medical records, Desai had also urged HC to keep pending the appeals filed by Father Stan Swamy against special court orders rejecting his bail pleas on medical grounds and merits.

Thereafter, the HC had asked NIA and the prison department to produce records of Swamy’s treatment by July 13 to ascertain the veracity of the allegations made by Desai.

On Tuesday, Chief Public Prosecutor Aruna S Pai, representing the prison department, placed on record a 300-page compilation of documents, including medical reports, since Swamy was brought to Taloja jail till the postmortem of his body was conducted.

“The Holy Family Hospital has also submitted medical reports/papers of the treatment given to Fr. Swamy,” the HC noted. It wl hear the case again on Monday.

Source: Read Full Article