Mumbai: HC to hear Swamy’s bail plea, seeks med report

Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Tuesday directed the state to file a medical report by May 15, on Elgar Parishad accused Father Stan Swamy, 84, and posted for hearing his bail plea on health grounds in the week commencing on May 17.

The HC bench of Justices

S S Shinde and Manish Pitale

issued notice on appeals filed by Fr Swamy, and said his plea for regular bail would be heard post the court’s summer vacation.

Senior counsel Mihir Desai, appearing for the accused, said the prosecuting agency had raided Fr Swamy’s house in 2018, but chose to do nothing for the next two years and now despite his advanced Parkinson’s disease and precarious health, has arrested him and placed him in the prison’s medical facility since. “He is unable to stand properly or do daily chores without help, and every day his health is deteriorating,” said Desai, seeking interim medical bail for Fr Swamy.

In an FIR originally filed by Pune’s

Vishrambaug police

station in January 2018, following the Elgar Parishad, Swamy was booked under the UAPA, and several sections of the IPC, including waging war against government of India.

Sandesh Patil, counsel for NIA, sought time to file a reply saying a supplementary chargesheet has been filed against Fr Swamy.