Have 'great respect' for Stan Swamy's work: Bombay High Court while hearing his bail appeals posthumously

The Bombay High Court while hearing posthumously the appeals filed by late Jesuit priest Stan Swamy in the Elgar ParishadMaoist links case on Monday said he was a wonderful person and the court had great respect for his workThe observations were made by a bench of Justices S S Shinde and N J Jamadar that had also presided over Swamys medical bail plea on July 5 when the HC was informed about the 84yearold priests death at the Holy Family Hospital here that day following a cardiac arrestWe dont have time normally but I saw the funeral service of Swamy It was very gracious Justice Shinde said Such a wonderful person The kind of service he has rendered to the society We have great respect for his work Legally whatever is there against him is a different matter he saidThe bench also referred to the criticism that the National Investigation Agency NIA and the judiciary had received following Swamys deathIt expressed regret over how in several cases undertrials languished in prisons waiting for the trial to beginThe bench however also said it had ensured to remain fair while passing orders on Swamys medical bail plea as well as on the pleas filed by his coaccused in the Elgar ParishadMaoist links caseAlso Read Leaked data shows surveillance net in Elgar Parishad caseYou came to us with his medical bail plea on May 28 and we acceded to every prayer every time the court said to Swamys advocate senior counsel Mihir DesaiOutside we are speechless Only you Desai can clarify this You have said it on record that you have no grievance with this court in the matter the HC saidThe HC further said nobody mentions that this is the court which granted bail to coaccused Varavara Rao despite vehement oppositionWe allowed Raos family to meet as we thought human angle has to be seen In another case Hany Babu we sent to hospital of his choice Breach Candy Hospitala private medical faciluty the HC saidWe never anticipated this will happen Swamys death in custody What was on our minds we cant say now as we couldnt pronounce our order the HC said referring to the pending medical bail plea of the late Jesuit priestSwamy was arrested by the NIA in connection with the Elgar ParishadMaoist links case from Ranchi in October 2020 The tribal rights activist who was suffering from Parkinsons disease and several other ailments spent most of his time in custody in the Taloja prisons hospital in neighbouring Navi MumbaiHe was admitted to the staterun J J Hospital in Mumbai on two occasions and was shifted to the Holy Family Hospital a private medical facility on May 28 following the intervention of the bench led by Justice ShindeOn July 5 the bench was informed by the hospital authorities that Swamy had suffered from a cardiac arrest two days prior and was put on ventilator supportHe never regained consciousness and was declared dead by the hospital authorities about an hour before Swamys medical bail plea was taken up for hearing by the HC it was informed at that timeOn Monday following the HCs observations on it having passed fair orders Desai said Let me say on record that I am extremely happy with various benches of the HC that heard this matterDesai however urged the HC to let Swamys aide and another priest father Frazer Mascarenhas to participate in the magisterial inquiry that was initiated under Section 176 of the CrPC following the undertrials deathHe also urged the high court to direct the magistrate conducting the inquiry to adhere to the UNHRC guidelines on such inquiries and to ask for a report of the probe to be submitted in the HCDesai was Swamys counsel in the appeals challenging a special court order denying him bail on both medical grounds and meritsSwamy had also filed a plea in the HC just weeks before his death challenging section 45D of the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act UAPA that barred grant of bail to any person accused under the ActAdvocate Sandesh Patil who appeared for the NIA on Monday said the central agency was objecting to Desais request since the HC was hearing appeals challenging a bail order and issues related to the inquiry could not be raised on the same pleasTime and again it is projected that the NIA is responsible for whatever has happened and that jail authorities are responsible too Patil told the HCThe bench however told him there could be no control on who says what outside on the matterYou take instructions on how many witnesses how long will the trial take We have to look at it practically the HC said to the NIA counselThe concern is that for how many years can people be asked to languish in jail without a trial Not only in this case but the question will arise on other cases also it saidThe HC will continue hearing the pleas on July 23The Elgar Parishad case is related to inflammatory speeches made at a conclave held in Pune on December 31 2017 which the police claimed triggered violence the next day near the KoregaonBhima war memorial located on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra cityThe police had claimed the conclave was organised by people with alleged Maoist linksThe NIA later took over the probe into the caseThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever