PILs seek probe into Jayalalithaa’s death, Madras HC to hear all petitions on Jan 9

On Wednesday, the Madras High Court received two more Public Interest Litigations (PILs) asking for investigation into the treatment that former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa received in Apollo Hospital and the events that took place before her death on December 5.

The new PILs have been filed by an AIADMK supporter from Nagapattinam, Gnanashekharan, and social activist K R ‘Traffic’ Ramaswamy.

However, the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice M Sundar posted both the PILs to January 9 along with the pending PIL by AIADMK member PA Joseph.

Speaking to The News Minute, social activist Ramaswamy said, “They have not disclosed the medical treatment given to her as a Chief Minister. This needs to be investigated. Not only CBI probe, I want a special investigation team to probe this case. I also want a post-mortem to be done."

PA Joseph’s counsel, Vijayanand said, “Due to suspicion over Jayalalithaa’s death, my client wants a special commission to be formed and it should be headed by three retired Supreme Court judges."

The PIL filed by Gnanashekharan stated that the doctors who treated Jayalalithaa from AIIMS and Apollo Hospitals must provide all the treatment details to the court. He also wants a committee of medical experts to be formed to investigate the matter.

When the petition filed by PA Joseph came for hearing on December 29, 2016, the vacation bench comprising of Justice Vaidyanathan and Justice Parthiban observed, “We have personal suspicions about Jayalalithaa’s death.”

Referring to news reports during Jayalalithaa’s 75-day hospitalisation, Judge Vaidyanathan 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.

However, on Thursday, the Supreme Court dismissed petitions filed by expelled AIADMK member and MP Sasikala Pushpa seeking an order for a CBI investigation into the death of Jayalalithaa. The Supreme Court also added that they would be fined if they asked for the plea further.

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.