Elgar Parishad case: Bombay HC asks NIA, prison authorities to study Stan Swamy’s medical reports

The Bombay high court (HC) on Tuesday directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Maharashtra prison authorities to study the medical reports of Elgar Parishad case accused Stan Swamy, 84, who passed away on July 5 after suffering a heart attack due to multiple health complications. Swamy died in Holy Family Hospital, Bandra, where he had been shifted from Taloja jail on May 28 based on an HC order.

HC took on record a 300-page compilation of Swamy’s medical papers since the time was kept at Taloja jail after his arrest last October, along with a report of the Bandra hospital.

The division bench of justice SS Shinde and justice NJ Jamadar had asked the authorities to respond to the contentions that the tribal and human rights activist had passed away due to lack of medical facilities and the apathy of the jail authorities and National Investigation Agency (NIA) officers. The bench that was earlier hearing the bail application of the priest directed the authorities to respond on the request of Swamy’s senior counsel Mihir Desai.

Desai had urged the court to keep pending the applications by Swamy and had also sought to call for medical records.

On Tuesday, chief public prosecutor Aruna Pai, representing state prison authority, placed on record a 300-page compilation of documents which included Swamy’s medical reports since the time he was brought to Taloja jail, as well as his post-mortem report.

The court took on record the compilation of Swamy’s medical papers along with the report of Holy Family Hospital, and asked the parties to collect the same from its registry.

On July 5, the court had also said that all necessary inquiries required to be made in the case of custodial death should be done by a competent authority. In light of that, the court told Desai to ask someone to participate in the probe undertaken by the magistrate under section 176 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). Desai said he would respond and make submissions on the same during the next hearing.

The HC posted further hearing to July 19.