'Taloja Jail Has Brought Me To A Situation Where I Can't Eat, Write Or Walk Myself' : An Account Of Father Stan Swamy's Struggles For Basic Rights

Father Stan Swamy, an 84-year-old Jesuit priest who spent over 60 years of his life working for the most marginalised communities, for Adivasis and against the illegal detention of minors branded as Maoists in Jharkhand, passed away at the Holy Family hospital on Monday, his last wish unfulfilled. "I would request the judiciary to consider (my application) for interim bail… My deterioration is more powerful than the small tablets that they give…This is a very difficult moment for me. Whatever happens to me, I would like to be with my own," Father Stan had pleaded in a video conferencing call with the Bombay High Court after spending eight months at Taloja Central Prison on May 21, 2021. However, hospital admission was his only option. But Father Stan struggled for his freedom and basic human facilities inside prison ever since the National Investigation Agency arrested him in the Bhima Koregaon – Elgar Parishad Case on October 8, 2020. They filed a charge sheet against him and seven others, accusing them of having nexus with banned organization CPI(Maoist). Even though the NIA hadn't sought his custody for interrogation for a single day, the agency went to great lengths to oppose and delay every application for release or even a house arrest. Father Swamy's lawyer Sharif Shaikh had argued during his first application for interim bail on medical grounds in October 2020 that he could not sign even his vakalatnama and a thumb impression had to be taken. Swamy was suffering from acute Parkinson's, hearing loss, abdomen pain and lumbar spondylosis, he argued. But NIA opposed his plea. They accused the old man of trying to take "undue benefit" of the pandemic. Special NIA Judge, DE Kothalikar rejected his application recording the Superintendent's statement from Taloja that the prison had enough facilities to treat his ailments. At the time, the Taloja prison had merely three Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) practitioners, he said in his bail application."The prison has no facilities whatsoever and is manned by three ayurvedic doctors, and thus unless he is taken to a multispecialty hospital, a proper diagnosis cannot be done. "Thus, in light of the aforesaid it abundantly clear that the Appellant life is under imminent threat due to his pre-existing medical condition, advanced ages, lack of medical facilities at Taloja Central Prison and a COVID-19 pandemic that has breached the prison walls and has already infected a fellow inmate who was sharing the same hospital ward where the Appellant was also being treated. Thus, the Appellant is entitled to be released on temporary medical bail", from his bail application. The Straw and Sipper On November 7, 2020, Father Stan filed an application seeking the bag seized from him at the time of his arrest as it had his familiar straw and sipper. His lawyers said he was finding it very difficult to hold a glass or cup as acute Parkinson's made his hand tremor. Judge Kothalikar gave the NIA 20 days to respond to father Stan's request. Instead, they got back saying they never seized the bag from him, and the application was rejected as being "devoid of merit." His advocates Sharif Shaikh and Kritika Aggarwal were constrained to file another plea for purchasing the straw and sipper at their own cost. Not surprisingly, the court gave another week for the prison officials from Taloja to respond. Father Stan finally got his sipper in the first week of December, not because of a court order, but because prison officials provided it following the outcry his advocate Sharif Shaikh said. Taloja Prison officials said they were giving him everything, but the defence denied these claims. He wrote letters to his friends about how he was feeling cold and asked for a full-sleeved sweater, a thin blanket, and two pairs of socks, but the items were denied entry at the prison gates. Bail plea before Trial CourtFather Stan had sought regular bail from the trial court on merits and on medical grounds in November itself. However, the order on his plea, rejecting his prayers, was finally passed four months later, on March 21, 2021. Just a week before orders were to be passed, the NIA said they wanted to put additional documents on record. It was an internal report report from the Assistant Investigating Officer to the Superintendent of Police NIA. In it, the police officer claimed that he had analyzed documents and come to the conclusion that Father Stan and his NGO Bagaicha were "deeply involved in facilitating Maoists interests" because they have "deep rooted" association with another tribal rights organization, Visthapan Virodhi Jan Vikas Andolan (VVJVA), which is a "front organisation" of the banned CPI (Maoist). The report was taken on record and cited as grounds to reject bail despite NIA filing the charge sheet against him five months ago. "If...

'Taloja Jail Has Brought Me To A Situation Where I Can't Eat, Write Or Walk Myself' : An Account Of Father Stan Swamy's Struggles For Basic Rights

Sharmeen Hakim

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