All pleas on Jayalalithaa death put off to July 4

This time, the plea is from a serving IRS officer seeking answers to questions over the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao on the issue. 

The first bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M Sundar, before whom the PIL of P Balamurugan, came up for admission on Monday, tagged it along with similar PILs pending before it, on July 4. Balamurugan, an Assistant Commissioner, Customs, Excise and Service Tax Tribunal, in his plea said while Jayalaithaa was admitted to hospital on September 22, 2016, Rao visited the hospital only on October 2. Even though he returned without meeting her, the Governor issued a press statement that she was recovering well, the PIL said. 

Also, questioning the role of Prime Minister Modi, the PIL said when a chief minister falls seriously ill, it’s his duty to make an enquiry either through the PMO, Home Minister or Governor and call for a report to decide whether her health condition permits her to run the state machinery and to monitor change of power if needed. But Modi neither sought a report from the Governor nor made a courtesy call to the CM, to inquire about her health, it said.

Moreover, while pointing out that the Governor visited the hospital on two occasions, Balamurugan alleged “He deliberately did not see the ailing chief minister, and in fact had drawn a Laxman Rekha in the hospital so that nobody else would cross that line and see the chief minister.” The Governor reallocated the portfolios held by chief minister Jayalalithaa but there is no documentary evidence to prove that the late chief minister had advised the Governor to reallocate her portfolio, the plea said. 

Balamurugan also raised the query as to why the hospital failed to allow anybody, including Jayalalithaa’s blood relative Deepa Jayakumar, to see her. The other questions raised included when Jayalalithaa was cured of fever and dehydration and started her normal function on September 28, 2016, why was she not discharged from hospital? Why did the hospital not allow her to go abroad for further treatment? and why there was no explanation about her health deteriorating after October 3, 2016.