Apollo Hospitals ready to give details on Jaya treatment

Chennai: Apollo Hospitals has informed the Madras High Court that it was ready to submit details of treatment provided to former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in a sealed cover. The hospital's counsel stated this when a petition seeking a probe into the treatment of Jayalalithaa came up for hearing before the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice S Sundar.

When Apollo counsel said the treatment details would be provided to the Court, advocate for the petitioner Joseph sought to know why and when embalming was done on Jayalalithaa's body. The State government's counsel said the hospital provided periodical updates about the treatment provided to her. After hearing all sides, the Court ordered notice to the State government (returnable in four weeks) and posted the case to February 23 February for further hearing. Last month, expressing doubts over the circumstances leading to the death of Jayalalithaa, a Madras High Court Judge indicated that he might order exhumation of the body.

Justice S Vaidyanathan, who was heading a two-judge vacation bench, said the public should know what has happened. His observations came when the bench, also comprising Justice V Parthiban, was hearing the PIL filed by AIADMK worker Joseph seeking an inquiry commission or a fact-finding committee to probe the circumstances leading to the death of Jayalalithaa.

"After the demise, everybody has a right to question. I personally have a doubt. One day it was said that she is walking, another day you said that she will come out and suddenly what happened," he said.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on December 5 rejected a plea by expelled AIADMK MP Sasikala Pushpa and an NGO seeking CBI or a judicial probe into the death of Jayalalithaa. A bench of Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose and Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman said that a similar petition is pending before the Madras High Court. "We are not inclined to entertain the matter as a similar one is already pending before the Madras High Court. The petitions are dismissed," the bench said.