MUMBAI:The Bombay High Court on Friday directed the Maharashtra government to transfer jailed Father Stan Swamy to Holy Family Hospital in Bandra. The 84-year-old Jesuit priest is an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case and is lodged in Taloja Central Jail in Navi Mumbai.
A vacation bench comprising Justices SS Shinde and NR Borkar heard the matter on an urgent basis on Friday. The bench allowed Father Frazer Francis Mascarenhas SJ, a retired Principal of St Xaviers College, to visit Swamy at the Holy Family Hospital, subject to hospital’s protocols.
Besides, the court also directed the hospital to allow one police constable in the premises to protect/guard Swamy, since he is an under-trial prisoner. Swamy will be treated at Holy Family Hospital for two weeks, sources said.
According to the plea by Swamy, he is suffering from various ailments, including Parkinson’s Disease, loss of hearing, abdominal pain, as well as injury to his arms.
Additional Solicitor General(ASG) Anil Singh, appearing for the National Investigation Agency said Father Swamy should be shifted to a government hospital and not a private hospital. The court brushed aside the objections raised by the state government as well as the probe agency NIA.
At the earlier hearing, Ft Swamy told the court that while he was examined by doctors at the JJ Hospital, he was not given a chance to explain his complaints. He emphasised that his health had deteriorated a lot in the last eight months in jail, and now, he is not able to perform daily activities such as walking, writing, and bathing without assistance.