More than ten days after the Madras High Court expressed doubts over late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s death, the Tamil Nadu government has stated that it will file a reply to the court on. The court noted that the Discharge Summary of the late CM need not be made public and that the same may be kept in a sealed cover only to be seen by the court alone, and that too only if the need arises.
he first bench of the Madras High Court was hearing a petition filed by AIADMK member Joseph seeking a judicial probe into Jayalalithaa’s “mysterious death”.
While Apollo Hospital, where Jayalalithaa had been hospitalised, stated that the discharge summary report was ready, the court has respected the right of privacy and client confidentiality. On the bench questioning the petitioner’s locus standi, Joseph, the petitioner, noted that although he was not a blood relative, but a member of the AIADMK and a citizen of Tamil Nadu, and therefore deserved to know what had happened to the former CM.
With the state government seeking time to submit the details, the court posted the case for February 23.
On December 29, the vacation bench comprising of Justice Vaidyanathan Justice Parthiban observed, “We have personal suspicions about Jayalalithaa’s death.” Referring to news reports during Jayalalithaa’s 75-day hospitalisation, the judge asked, “There were reports of her eating, talking, attending meetings and signing documents. Then how did she die all of a sudden. At least now after her death, the truth should be revealed”
The bench also went on to say that the court could order the exhumation and post-mortem of Jayalalithaa’s body. “Even after death, you have not given medical records, why can’t we order exhumation of the body?” the High Court asked the Tamil Nadu government. The bench went on to issue notices to the Prime Minister, state and central governments.
Jayalalithaa was declared dead on December 5 after suffering a cardiac arrest a day earlier. She had been hospitalised at Apollo Hospital on September 22 with fever and dehydration. Medical bulletins issued by the hospital initially stated that the Chief Minister was stable, under treatment and required rest. Meanwhile, an intensivist from the UK, Dr Richard Beale was flown in to oversee Jayalalithaa’s treatment along with a team of doctors from Apollo Hospital. Doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences were also flown into help with Jayalalithaa’s course of treatment. However, Jayalalithaa suffered a cardiac arrest on December 4 and was pronounced dead at 11:30pm the following day.
Following a funeral on December 6 attended by several leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Jayalalithaa was laid to rest at the MGR memorial on Marina Beach in Chennai. The late CM was given a burial, instead of a cremation, just as her predecessors MGR and Annadurai were.