Madras High Court asks for report on Jayalalithaa's health

The Madras High Court on Tuesday asked the Tamil Nadu government to inform it about the health condition of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa by Wednesday.

Hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by social activist ‘Traffic’ Ramaswamy, a division bench comprising Justices M M Sundresh and R Mahadevan said people were anxious to learn about the chief minister’s health. “An official release in this regard will reduce their anxiety,” the court observed.

In his plea, Ramaswamy had sought to know the “real” status of Jayalalithaa’s health and the treatment given to her, as the hospital bulletins were not giving the exact picture. He also asked if Jayalalithaa was in a condition to take decisions and hold meetings with the officials.

“Apprehensions of the people could be cleared if photographs or videos of the chief minister discharging her official duties with the government authorities are released,” he said.

Tamil Nadu’s Additional Advocate General Manishankar said there was no urgency in the case since the hospital authorities were releasing periodical bulletins on the chief minister’s health. “Though the hospital has issued some statements, the government is duty-bound to provide a status report of her (Jayalalithaa’s) condition,” the court said, directing the Additional Advocate General to get the information sought by the petitioner.

The 68-year-old AIADMK supremo has been undergoing treatment for “fever and dehydration” at Apollo Hospital since September 22.