The Madras High Court on Thursday criticised the Justice A. Arumughaswamy Commission of Inquiry (CoI) for adopting a “strange” procedure during its inquiry into the circumstances that led to the hospitalisation and consequent death of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on December 5, 2016, and said that Apollo Hospitals was “compelled” to approach the court only because of such bizarre acts.
Disposing of two writ petitions filed by the hospital, a Division Bench of Justices R. Subbiah and Krishnan Ramasamy said the hospital had subjected itself to the inquiry proceedings without any hesitation ever since the Commission of Inquiry was constituted in 2017.
It also cooperated with the inquiry all along until counsel for the commission filed a counter-statement against the hospital, not before any other forum but before the Commission of Inquiry itself.