STAN SWAMY SAYS HE PREFERS ‘SLOW DEATH’ IN JAIL

Father Stan Swamy, the 84year-old tribal rights activist on Friday interacted personally with the judges of the Bombay High Court via video conferencing and refused to get admitted to state-run JJ Hospital. He told the court he would rather prefer staying in Taloja prison where he is currently lodged. He requested the court to consider his interim bail application, as he wanted to go to his hometown Ranchi.

The court adjourned the hearing on his bail plea till June 7, after his lawyer sought time to explain to Swamy that he could be admitted to a private hospital pending his bail application.

As per court’s direction he was produced before the court via video conferencing from Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai. The judges wanted to speak to him personally to know his health condition.

During his interaction with the vacation bench of Justice S.J. Kathawalla and Justice S.P. Tavade, Father Swamy said that his health has progressively deteriorated in the eight months he has spent at Taloja Prison. He also alleged that being in Taloja has brought him to a situation where he can neither eat, write, bathe or go for a walk by himself.

Currently Swamy is in a prison hospital and when judges asked him about shifting him at JJ Hospital, he said he didn’t want to get admitted at this hospital. He said he has been there thrice and he knew the set-up there.

He said he would “rather suffer, possibly die very shortly if this were to go on. I would prefer this, than be admitted at the JJ Hospital. It is a very difficult moment for me,” he said.