November 28, 2020 4:45:43 am
But Swamy’s defense team says their wait for the two items, which have been in their possession as “an integral part of their basic needs” for the past few years, continues.
A REQUEST for access to his own familiar straw cup and straw by Father Stan Swamy, the 83-year-old Jesuit priest and activist from Jharkhand who was arrested under strict UAPA by the National Investigative Agency (NIA), has been turned into a textbook case of how insensitive legal procedure can be.
From his arrest on October 7 in the Elgar Parishad case until the last court hearing on Thursday, the two items have been tossed from desk to desk.
The Maharashtra government and authorities at Taloja Central Jail in Mumbai say Swamy, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, has received all the basic facilities, including a straw and a sippy glass, since he was brought to the ward. from the hospital a few weeks after his arrival in prison. .
But Swamy’s defense team says their wait for the two items, which have been in their possession as “an integral part of their basic needs” for the past few years, continues.
Consider the sequence of events.
At the time of his arrest, Swamy was carrying a bag with some belongings, including clothes and a sippy glass, handed to him by his colleagues in Bagaicha, a Jesuit research and social training center in Ranchi. Presented before a Special Court in Mumbai on October 8, he was sent to judicial custody in Taloja the same day.
According to his defense team, they learned on November 6 that Swamy had not been allowed to bring the sippy cup inside. On the same day, they filed an application with the court asking the NIA for instructions to return the sip.
“If the prison authorities did not allow him to take him during his transfer to the prison, we think that the NIA agents, who were escorting him, should have the items. Therefore, we made a request for it to be returned in the hope that it would not take long, ”said Swamy’s lawyer, Sharif Shaikh.
However, the court ordered the NIA to file an answer and published the matter on November 26, after the Diwali holiday. On Thursday, the NIA claimed that it had conducted a personal search for Swamy at his arrest in the presence of independent witnesses and that “no such straws and sips were found.”
The court ruled: “In view of this argument, the application that lacks substance deserves to be rejected.”
The defense team then made another request seeking instructions to the jail to allow Swamy to receive winter clothing and a straw and sip to be sent to her at her expense. The court requested a report from the jail and set the hearing for December 4.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Maharashtra MoS for Home Satej D Patil said that necessary care was being provided to Swamy, including a straw and a sippy cup. “He is provided with adequate medical care and other needs according to the prison rules,” said Patil.
In their response dated November 25 to the State Human Rights Commission, regarding a complaint, the Taloja prison authorities affirmed that Swamy receives regular medicines, tablets, a high-protein diet, hot water for bathing, a sheet, a mattress. and pillow. He stated that due to Parkinson’s disease, he is assisted by two assistants who are co-interns.
The response indicated that Swamy has a “wheelchair, cane, walker, chair with toilet, sippy cup, sip bottle, straws, batteries for her hearing aid.” He stated that he is examined by a psychiatrist at regular intervals and that his vital signs are checked daily.
However, Father Cedric Prakash SJ, a rights activist who is part of Swamy’s defense team, said that according to the communication received this week from the 83-year-old man, he has not been provided the sip.
An excerpt from an alleged letter sent by Swamy this week stated that she had asked for a long-sleeved sweater, a thin blanket and two pairs of socks. “I am sorry to hear that these materials were not accepted at the prison gate and whoever brought them had to return them not once but three times,” says the letter, shared by Prakash.
He said prison authorities have assured Swamy that if the items are sent again, they will be allowed.
The NIA has accused Swamy of being involved in activities of the outlaw (Maoist) CPI. In his defense, Swamy has said that he is under attack for his writing and work for the Adivasis and for caste and land struggles. Last month, the Special Court rejected a bail request submitted on medical grounds by Swamy. Another allegation filed Thursday will be heard next week.
On Friday, with outrage building over reports that he had taken the straw and Swamy’s straw, the NIA issued a statement reiterating its submission to the court.
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd
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