Doctors will appear on April 25 if we don’t get stay order: Apollo

CHENNAI: Maimoona Badsha, counsel for Apollo Hospitals, filed an undertaking before the Justice (retd) A Arumughaswamy Commission on Wednesday stating that their doctors and non-medical staff will appear before the commission on April 25, in case they don’t have a stay order from the Supreme Court.

The commission is probing the circumstances surrounding former chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s death. As many as 10 doctors and a few non-medical staff were scheduled to appear on Wednesday.

Sources said Apollo has approached the apex court against the Madras high court’s verdict last week, disallowing its plea for forming a medical board to assist the commission.

The hospital filed an adjournment application stating that it had obtained a diary number from the Supreme Court.

Sources said there were arguments between Badsha and the commission — the latter initially refused to accept Badsha’s contentions on behalf of the doctors saying she did not represent them. It later asked Badsha to file the undertaking.

Speaking to reporters in the afternoon, counsel for V K Sasikala, Raja Senthoor Pandian, confirmed the proceedings. He told reporters that he had asked the panel to summon deputy chief minister O Pannerselvam and that he had evaded appearing before the it seven times. “OPS had once challenged health minister C Vijayabaskar about appearing before the commission. Now, Vijayabaskar has appeared, but OPS has not,” Pandian said.

The high court while declining Apollo’s plea last week had stated that 90% of the panel’s proceedings were complete and that a medical committee was already assisting them. Pandian said Apollo’s plea was for a 22-member medical board and not a four-member committee assisting the panel currently.