Bombay High Court has ordered 84-year-old Jesuit Father Stan Swamy to be moved to church-run Holy Family Hospital for treatment after his health deteriorated in prison.
The elderly priest, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease and other age-related illnesses, has been detained in a prison in Mumbai, capital of Maharashtra state, since Oct. 9.
The May 28 court order came after Father Swamy’s counsel told the court that the priest’s health had deteriorated further and he needed special treatment outside the jail’s hospital.
Lawyer Mihir Desai filed a special plea citing his health condition on May 27 before the bench.
The court also directed the Catholic hospital in Mumbai to assign an assistant to take care of the priest.
“We are glad that the court has ordered Father Swamy to be moved to the hospital,” Father A. Santhanam, a Jesuit lawyer who is monitoring his case, told UCA News on May 28.
Father Swamy has become so weak in these days that he is not able to walk or even eat properly
“Father Swamy has become so weak in these days that he is not able to walk or even eat properly and his blood pressure was dropping. He will be moved to the hospital either today or tomorrow.”
Last week Father Swamy told the court through an online platform that his health had worsened since he was jailed. The court was hearing his bail plea filed on health grounds but it postponed the hearing to June.
The priest was arrested on Oct. 8 from his home in Ranchi, capital of eastern India’s Jharkhand state, on charges of conspiring with outlawed Maoist rebels to overthrow the federal government in New Delhi.
The court had given him an option to go for treatment in a government hospital, which he rejected. He said his only prayer was for interim bail and he preferred to stay in jail until it was granted.
Father Swamy wanted to go back to his residence in Ranchi but the court did not permit it and instead agreed to send him for treatment at a private hospital. He turned down that offer too.
The priest approached the high court on April 26 seeking bail after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) turned down his bail applications twice.
He is among 16 people charged under India’s stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, a controversial law that rights activists and others want scrapped.
Jesuits and rights activists say they were arrested on similar charges to silence their criticism of the federal government run by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
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