Days after being shifted to suburban Bandra-based Holy Family hospital, arrested Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy has tested positive of Covid19 virus. The octogenarian is presently on Oxygen supply.
"He was shifted to Holy Family hospital soon after the orders of the Bombay HC. On arrival at the hospital, he was subjected to Covid19 test and now the report states he has been infected by the virus," confirmed senior counsel Mihir Desai, who represents Swamy.
"He was subjected to the test as he showed certain symptoms of Covid. Now he is under observation and is put on Oxygen supply due to fluctuations in his saturation levels," Desai added.
According to Desai, he would inform the Bombay High Court about his client's condition as this is because of the "negligence" of the jail authorities at Taloja prison, Navi Mumbai.
"My client was in jail and showed symptoms of Covid. He wasn't subjected to any test. This shows the negligence on part of the jail authorities," the counsel added.
Notably, the HC bench of Justices Sambhaji Shinde and Nitin Borkar had on Friday ordered the Maharashtra government to shift Swamy to Holy Family hospital after he agreed to getting admitted in a private hospital.
He was ordered to be admitted as his health deteriorated post a previous hearing held on May 21, when he specifically told the HC that he would prefer dying in the prison than to get admitted in state-run JJ hospital.
In his interaction with the bench led by Justice Kathawalla on May 21, Swamy had said that his health has deteriorated ever since he was arrested and lodged in Taloja prison. He had told the bench that he now needs support for doing everything which wasn't the case earlier.
The bench of Justice Kathawalla, however, denied giving him interim bail stating that Swamy faced health issues owing to his old age.
On Friday, when the matter was called out, Swamy's counsel Desai informed the bench of Justice Shinde that his client has agreed to get admitted to Holy Family hospital to get treated for his "general health."
