Stan Swamy files plea for straw, sipper in jail; court seeks NIA reply

A SPECIAL court on Friday directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to file a reply on an application filed by 83-year-old Stan Swamy arrested in the Elgar Parishad case.

Swamy has been lodged at Taloja central jail since October 9, a day after he was brought to the city from Jharkhand. The application was filed seeking permission to allow a straw and sipper to be given to Swamy as he suffers from Parkinson’s disease and is unable to hold glasses provided to him by the jail. The NIA has been asked to file a reply to the plea by November 26.

Swamy is one of the oldest accused to be arrested on charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Last month, the court rejected his interim bail plea filed on medical grounds. The NIA had opposed the plea stating that Swamy “under the garb of the current situation on account of the global pandemic Covid-19 is trying to take undue benefit of the situation”.

Swamy along with seven others was chargesheeted by the NIA last month for his alleged role as a member of the banned organisation Communist Party of India (Maoist).