SC stays probe into Jayalalithaa's death in Apollo

The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the proceedings of Inquiry Commission set up by the Tamil Nadu govt to probe into the death of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in 2016.

A bench presided over by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna, passed the order on a plea by the Apollo Hospitals Enterprises Ltd, where she was treated for 75 days till her death on December 5, 2016.

The hospital, represented by senior advocate C A Sundaram, has challenged the Madras High Court's order of April 4 whereby it had refused to the stay the proceedings, including the summoning of all records by the Arumugaswamy Commission. The high court had said though the apprehension of bias may be justified, the Commission should be allowed to continue the proceedings as its findings may not be binding but would determine the future course of action by the state government.

Senior advocate K V Vishwanathan and Additional Advocate General Balaji Srinivasan appeared for the state government.

The court asked the state government to file its response within four weeks as the hospital contended the Commission, appointed on September 25, 2017 under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952, had transgressed its jurisdiction as it was not mandated to go into efficacy, correctness, adequacy and inadequacy of treatment provided to the AIADMK chief.

The hospital claimed that it had already suffered huge blows on account of “mis-reporting” of the proceedings before the Commission.

It claimed 32 doctors who treated the former CM were summoned and were badgered and humiliated before the Commission.

It contended the Commission had also sought records of treatment provided to former Chief Minister M G Ramachandran.

As many as 30 volumes of medical records, CDs have been furnished before the Commission headed by former judge Justice A Aurumugaswamy by the state government to look into the circumstances leading to the death of Jayalalithaa in the Apollo hospital, Chennai.

A total of 55 personnel including doctors, staff and nurses have personally deposed before it.