Swamy, who is suffering from advanced Parkinson’s disease, has been in jail since October last year.
Mumbai: Eighty-four-year-old Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist Stan Swamy has tested positive for COVID-19.
Swamy, one of the 16 persons to be arrested in the Elgar Parishad case, had been suffering from fever, severe cough, headache and upset stomach for the past few weeks. He was, however, finally hospitalised only two days ago following the Bombay high court direction to move him to a hospital for 15 days.
Swamy, who is suffering from advanced Parkinson’s disease, has been in jail since October last year. He has since been lodged at the Taloja central prisons, one of the most overcrowded in Maharashtra. Swamy, who had difficulty in even sipping water from a glass, was dependent on co-prisoners to go about his daily life in jail. Since his arrest, Swamy has been at the hospital ward inside Taloja.
Swamy was shifted to a private hospital, Holy Family, after a long legal battle. Last week, his lawyer Mihir Desai had brought to the notice of the Bombay high court the fact that conditions inside the Taloja prison was deplorable and had had an adverse impact on Swamy’s health. The prison, with over 3,500 persons incarcerated, was managed by three Ayurvedic doctors. These doctors, although not qualified, have been accused of administering allopathic medicines to the prisoners. In the case of Swamy too, allopathic medicines were given to him, his lawyers have alleged.
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On May 19, the high court had directed the dean of the state-run JJ hospital to set up an expert committee to examine Swamy’s medical condition. This report was submitted to the court on May 21.
‘Would rather suffer’
On the court’s direction, Swamy was produced before it through a video conference from jail. Evidently tired, Swamy had told the court that his condition has seen a steady regression since he was arrested in October last year. In such a worrying situation too, Swamy was opposed to a move to JJ Hospital. Having been hospitalised at JJ Hospital in the past, Swamy ostensibly did not trust the hospital to treat him well. He told the court that he would “rather suffer” and “possibly die very shortly” than be treated at the state-run hospital. Soon after Swamy spoke before the court, his lawyer Desai had urged the court to be allowed to speak to his client to convince him to take proper treatment.
Eventually on May 28, Desai told the court that Swamy had agreed to be treated at Holy Family hospital in Bandra. The same day, Swamy was moved to the hospital following the court’s order.
On Sunday, May 30, Swamy’s friends confirmed that he has tested positive for coronavirus.
“We have informed the jail authorities too. Inside prison, he was helped by other accused in the Elgar Parishad case. We have told the jail authorities to get everyone, who must have come in Swamy’s contact, tested. We have also urged the hospital to inform the prison officials,” one of Swamy’s close friends informed The Wire.
The friend also said that they have been struggling to find out more about his health and have no indication if he is fine. “We have no clue. We are trying to find out more,” the friend said.
Even when Swamy was struggling in jail, both the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the state prison officials had opposed his shifting to a private hospital. Swamy’s lawyer had moved an urgent interim bail and the NIA court had rejected his bail petition on grounds including his health and the current COVID-19 situation.
On the request to move Swamy to a private hospital, the Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, representing NIA, had told the high court that such a direction from the court would set a bad precedent. Similar arguments were made when Hany Babu, Swamy’s co-accused and an associate professor at the Delhi University, had tested positive for COVID-19. The court had eventually sent Babu to Breach Candy hospital to ensure he gets adequate treatment both for COVID-19 and his severe eye infection.
Also read: NIA Opposes Stan Swamy’s Bail; Calls PUCL, Visthapan Virodhi Jan Vikas Andolan ‘Maoist Fronts’
‘Debilitating tremors’
Swamy had put up a resilient front all through his incarceration and avoided complaining of the prison conditions. Until a note moved before the high court, based on Swamy’s conversation with his long-time friend and colleague, Father Joseph Xavier, on May 14, captured the extent of the difficulties Swamy has been facing in jail.
Father Xavier’s note mentions that Swamy had, for the first time during his stay, mentioned that he “is weak.” While Swamy had been showing symptoms of the advanced stages of Parkinson’s disease from the time of his arrest itself, he now has debilitating tremors in both arms.
Father Xavier pointed out that this almost entirely impairs Swamy from accomplishing basic and essential daily tasks such as eating food, drinking water, putting on clothes and taking a bath, without the assistance of fellow prisoners.
Each time Swamy fell ill, he was ferried to and from Taloja central prison to JJ hospital, which is about 55-kilometres away. Travelling in a police van for such a long distance has had a lasting impact on his health, one of Swamy’s colleague said. “He needed sustained medical care. Instead, he would be taken to the hospital and brought back the same day,” Swamy’s colleague shared.
Swamy was the 16th person to be arrested in the ongoing Elgar Parishad case. Even when the investigation on his alleged role was completed, he was arrested on October 8. He was sent into judicial custody and a day after his arrest, the NIA filed a supplementary chargesheet in the case.
Swamy is perhaps the oldest prisoner in India. Even while both the Supreme Court and the high court have issued several directions to decongest prisons to curb COVID-19 outbreaks there, Swamy’s case cannot be considered for release as he, like several hundred prisoners, is booked under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Accused under this law don’t qualify for an emergency bail or parole as recommended by the high-power committee set up to decongest prisons across different states. An arbitrary and artificial distinction has been made and those booked under the special act have been exempted from being released on bail.
