NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the proceedings of an inquiry commission set up to probe the death of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa at Apollo Hospitals, Chennai, in 2016.
On April 4, the Madras High Court had rejected Apollo’s plea to quash a government order that laid down the terms of reference for the Justice Arumughaswamy Commission of Inquiry, which had empowered it to probe the appropriateness, efficacy, adequacy or inadequacy of the treatment given to Jayalalithaa during her 75-day hospitalisation in 2016. She died due to a massive cardiac arrest on December 5, 2016 at Apollo Hospitals.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi issued notice and stayed the proceedings of the inquiry commission.
During a brief hearing, senior advocate C A Sundaram, appearing for the hospital, sought a stay of the inquiry proceedings saying the panel cannot scrutinise the medical treatment given to the leader during her hospitalisation. “The committee says you should have done the operation, which you did not do. Can these aspects be dealt by it?” he asked.
However, the state government opposed the hospital’s submission and said since 90 per cent of the inquiry was already over, it should not be stalled. The Madrash High Court had said the panel was empowered to go into the matter.