MUMBAI (UCAN): The High Court in Mumbai directed Maharashtra state authorities to take Jesuit Father Stan Swamy to a government hospital for a medical examination on May 20 after hearing his bail application on medical grounds the previous day. Its decision came after contradictory reports about his health were presented to the court.
The court also told authorities to facilitate the 84-year-old Father Swamy’s presence through video conferencing so it could hear directly from him.
The priest’s confrères and family told media in mid-May that he has been suffering from a fever and diarrhea. They also suspect he has Covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2).
Jesuit Father A. Santhanam, a lawyer who is following the case, said the elderly priest’s health is too weak. “Our report is that he is even finding it difficult to talk,” he said on May 20.
Father Swamy, who has been incarcerated since 9 October 2020, already suffers from Parkinson’s disease and is reported to be hard of hearing.
The court directed the dean of the government hospital to form a committee comprising a neuro-physician, an ear, nose and throat specialist, an orthopaedic specialist and a general physician to examine the priest.
‘So Taloja jail has brought me to a situation where I can neither write nor go for a walk by myself,’ he said, noting that when he arrived at the prison ‘whole systems of my body were very functional, but there has been a steady, slow regression of my bodily functions’
Father Stan Swami SJ
However, Father Swamy rejected the offer, saying his only request was for interim bail so that he could go home to Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand state in eastern India.
Over video-conferencing, he told the court about his conditions in Taloja Central Jail in Mumbai.
“So Taloja jail has brought me to a situation where I can neither write nor go for a walk by myself,” he said, noting that when he arrived at the prison “whole systems of my body were very functional, but there has been a steady, slow regression of my bodily functions.”
“Only one thing that I would request the judiciary is to consider … interim bail. That is the only request.”
The court said it could not send him back to Jharkhand right now but could arrange for him to get treatment in a hospital.
Father Swamy had appealed to the High Court on April 26 seeking bail on grounds that he was sick and needed treatment outside prison in a personal capacity. However, a special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) rejected his two previous bail pleas—on health grounds and on a regular basis.
The priest was among 16 people arrested and jailed on charges of conspiring with a banned Maoist group to overthrow the federal government. All are accused of having links with violence in Bhima Koregaon village in Maharashtra state in 2018.
During the May 19 bail hearing of Father Swamy, the NIA submitted a report from the prison hospital claiming that the priest’s condition was “hemodynamically stable.” The medical term simply means that the person’s heart is pumping blood at a stable rate and the body enjoys a good circulation of blood.
The NIA also insisted that Father Swamy had been given required medical attention in prison, including regular examinations by a psychiatrist.
Its report said Father Swamy had not complained about anything and had expressed satisfaction with the facilities in the prison.
Mihir Desai, a lawyer who appeared for Father Swamy, denied the claims and said the NIA report was outdated and did not reflect the priest’s health condition on the day before the hearing.
