Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has posted Father Stan Swamy’s medical bail plea to May 17.
A bench of Justices SS Shinde and Manish Pital on May 4 adjourned of the 84-year-old priest’s plea with directions to the Maharashtra government to submit a report on his health on or before May 15.
Father Swamy was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the Bhima-Koregaon case on October 8, 2020.
The high court has ordered the secretary of home department, Maharashtra government, to file a report detailing the health condition of Swamy by May 15.
The second application of Father Swamy’s for a bail plea, also filed through senior counsel Mihir Desai, was adjourned to June 15.
Appearing through video conferencing Desai, told the bench that his client is languishing in the jail since October last year.
“My client’s house was raided in August 2018 but he wasn’t arrested for over two years and suddenly in October 2020 they (NIA) arrested him,” Desai told the bench.
The senior counsel further apprised the bench of the fact that his client is suffering from an advanced stage of Parkinson’s disorder and other health related issues. “Situation is this that my client cannot even stand on his own. He is also facing trouble in hearing,” Desai emphasised.
The judges considered Desai’s submissions and noted that the NIA is yet to frame any charges against Swamy and that there are 200 witnesses in the case. The bench even noted that Swamy is 84-year-old and is in jail for the last two years.
However, special public prosecutor Sandesh Patil highlighted the fact that the central agency has filed a supplementary chargesheet in the case.
https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/fpj-legal-father-stan-swamys-medical-bail-plea-adjourned-to-may-17