No Need To Name Stand-in For Unwell Jayalalithaa, Says Madras High Court

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government will not be ordered to make a formal statement on the health of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa or choose a stand-in for her while she is in hospital, the Madras High Court said today.

Ms Jayalalithaa, 68, has been in hospital since September 22. At first, her party, the AIADMK, said she was being treated for fever and dehydration. After her stay extended well beyond what the party had estimated, doctors attending to her have said she is on a respiratory support and is responding well to treatment, but must remain in their care for a few more days.

Large gaps in the information shared on her health have triggered speculation about whether the Chief Minister is seriously unwell, which her party flat out rejects. Doctors from Delhi's AIIMS hospital have joined a UK specialist in lung diseases in attending to the former movie star who is one of the country's most powerful and popular politicians.

Ms Jayalalithaa's opponents demanded that a photograph be released of her to confirm that she is well enough to remain in charge of the state; an activist separately petitioned the High Court asking that the government explain details of her condition along with naming an interim Chief Minister to fill in for her. The politician's party has rejected the first request and the Madras High Court the second. Governor C Vidyasagar Rao who visited Ms Jayalalithaa in hospital a few days ago has advised that a daily bulletin on her health be shared nightly by 8 pm

Outside Apollo Hospital in Chennai, hundreds of fans of Ms Jayalalithaa have gathered in a mass vigil and say they will not go home till they are certain that she is better.

The AIADMK has filed police cases against four people for misreporting the party chief's health on social media.