Father Swamy admitted in Catholic hospital on court orders

By Matters India Reporter

Mumbai: Jesuit tribal activist Father Stan Swamy was on May 28 admitted to a Catholic hospital in Mumbai following the Bombay High Court intervention.

Father Swamy arrived at Holy Family Hospital in Bandra, a Mumbai suburb, at 9:45 pm, according to Jesuit Father Arockiasamy Santhanam, spokesperson for the National Lawyers Forum of Religious and Priests, who is monitoring his senior confrere’s case.

“We are happy that the court has understood rightly the health condition, health emergency and the dire need for urgent medical treatments for Stan and granted the relief,” Father Santhanam told Matters India.

According to him, initial investigations at hospital showed Covid symptoms. “Stan is shifted to Covid ICU. He is on oxygen,” he added.

According to him, Father Frazer Mascarenhas, the former principal of Mumbai’s St. Xavier’s college and the visitor permitted by the court, met Father Swamy in the hospital.

In earlier video conference with judges, Father Swamy refused hospitalization and pleaded for interim bail to go to Ranchi, in eastern India, to be with his people.

However, as his health condition deteriorated Father Swamy obliged to the suggestion of hospitalization after his lawyer, with the court permission, interacted with him through the counsel call facility. ”He is unable to stand, walk and eat without helpers,” Father Santhanam said.

Earlier in the day, the court directed Maharashtra government to transfer the 84-year-old priest, accused in the Bhima Koregaon caste violence case, to the Holy Family Hospital from Taloja Central Jail and treat him.

In an urgent hearing, Mihir Desai, a senior advocate appearing for the Jesuit priest, told a Division Bench of justices S S Shinde and N R Borkar that Father Swamy’s condition was not improving.

As per a call made by Father Swamy to his close associate Jesuit Father Joseph Xavier his blood pressure was dropping and he continued to feel weak. Desai told the court that Father Swamy had agreed to move to a private hospital and would bear his own expenses.

Additional public prosecutor J P Yagnik reiterated that the Taloja Central Jail hospital had all the facilities and he could easily be treated there.

Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh representing the National Investigation Agency, which is probing the case, said Father Swamy should be shifted to a government hospital and not a private hospital.

On May 21, another Bench of the High Court suggested that Father Swamy be admitted to the government-managed J J Hospital for a few days. However, because his general condition seemed getting worse, he was directed to be sent to the Holy Family Hospital for two weeks.

In the last hearing, Father Swamy, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease among other ailments, said, “I am eating less and less and my co-accused are worried about me. I would prefer to suffer and die like this in Taloja jail than being admitted to JJ Hospital. It will not improve, it will keep going. Only one thing that I would request the judiciary is to consider for interim bail. That is the only request.”