City-based advocate plans to drag Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology to court for violating rules under jail manual and medical code by allowing hordes of visitors to meet Yeddyurappa
City-based advocate plans to drag Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology to court for violating rules under jail manual and medical code by allowing hordes of visitors to meet Yeddyurappa
Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology and jail authorities are doing all the right things to raise eyebrows in the state. The hospital has been allowing troupes of politicians to visit former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, who is in judicial custody and has been admitted there for treatment.
K Raghavendra is a practicing advocate in the city, who had earlier filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) against Victoria Hospital for giving shelter to former minister Haratalu Halappa accused of raping his friend's wife on false health grounds.
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Interestingly, even Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda is under the scanner for visiting the hospital along with his cabinet colleagues.
"The crowded scenes we witnessed at Jayadeva yesterday are in violation of rules under the jail manual and the medical code, besides causing inconvenience to the general public. I am going file a PIL against this,"
Raghavendra said.
He added that Sadananda's gesture was surprising and he should not have been done since he was the head of state.
"The entire cabinet was at the hospital and even the CM spent over half an hour with Yeddyurappa, who is accused in a graft case and has been remanded to judicial custody. He may be politically compelled to do this, but he conveyed a message that the government is backing a corrupt person," he added.
After the Lokayukta special court rejected his bail application in one of the land scam cases filed by Sirajin Basha and K N Balaraj, Yeddyurappa along with former minister S N Krishnaiah Setty was sent to Parappana Agrahara jail on Saturday.
At around midnight, he complained of chest pain, was taken to the hospital. He was hospitalised after a preliminary check-up and placed in a special ward with an ICU.
"He is suffering from multiple diseases, including high blood pressure and diabetes. We will keep him under observation for 48 hours and then do an angiogram (an X-ray of blood vessels)," said Dr C N Manjunath, director of Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology.
A battalion of BJP leaders started descending on the hospital from early in the morning. Following Sadananda, who came with his entire convoy, were Shobha Karandlaje, M P Renukacharya, V Somanna, Basavaraja Bommai and Lakshman Sawadi along with their supporters.
To control the crowd, an extra police platoon was called in and one gate was exclusively kept for Yeddyurappa's visitors, who continued to pour in till late in the evening.
While the hospital authorities clearly violated medical code, including following the scheduled visiting hours, the political parade at the hospital was in clear violation of rules under the jail manual.
According to the jail manual, an undertrail prisoner or an accused in judicial custody is only permitted to meet family members for filing applications, executing power of attorney etc, which is as per the jail superintendent's discretion.
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A prisoner must be kept in a jail ward in case he is hospitalised, and meeting with visitors must be in presence of a jail officer.
While the number of persons is limited from four to six, conversations during visits should be restricted to private and domestic matters and duration of visit must not exceed 40 minutes.
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"I was in the hospital for only a few minutes and did not talk much to Yeddyurappa.u00a0The ministers and I spoke to the doctors. I don't think we have violated any norms," said Sadananda.
However, sources in the hospital said he spent over half an hour speaking to Yeddyurappa, while other ministers were around.
Apart from BJP leaders visiting him, Yeddyurappa's family members, including his MP son B Y Raghavendra and close confidant Siddalinga Swamy were present the entire day and into the night. His daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law and others turned up later in the evening.
Excise minister M P Renukacharya along with other BJP MLAs emerge
from the Jayadeva hospital where former Chief Minister B S
Yeddyurappa has been admitted
Although sources said that Raghavendra brought home food along, Manjunatha said Yeddyurappa was only given hospital food.
"It is entirely illegal for political allies to be permitted any access to any inmate. Remember, a hospital that treats a prisoner is still a prison for purposes of the jail manual," said K V Dhananjaya, a Supreme Court advocate.
Gowda to the rescue?
Yeddyurappa's visit to the hospital past mid-night yesterday - after hospital authorities are believed to have refused to admit him as they found him fine after conducting preliminary tests appears to be a case of foe-turned friend in need. Former prime minister H D Deve Gowda intervened and convinced them to take him in.
Incidentally, Dr C N Manjunath, director of Jayadeva Institute of Cordiology, is the son-in-law of Gowda.
Gowda's gesture has raised hackles, as it is he who is rumoured to have instigated Sirajin Basha and K N Balaraj to file cases against Yeddyurappa after obtaining the Governor's sanction to prosecute him when he was the CM.
Sources said that Gowda's move is to make peace with Yeddyurappa, who has retaliated by making a retired engineer file a graft case against his eldest son H D Blakrishne Gowda.
In addition, a political plot is not to be ruled out, while Gowda's other son and former CM H D Kumaraswamy issuing a soft statement regarding Yeddyurappa landing in jail and launching a scathing attack on the Congress leaders celebrating his imprisonment.
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