SC asks UP govt to submit medical records of journalist Siddique Kappan

The Supreme Court Tuesday asked the Uttar Pradesh government to submit medical records of journalist Siddique Kappan who was arrested last year on way to Hathras where a young Dalit woman had died after being allegedly gangrapedKerala Union of Working Journalists KUWJ alleged that Kappan has been chained to a cot in the hospital he was admitted to after falling in the bathroom and later testing positive for COVID19The UP government refuted the allegations that Kappan has been chained to a cot at the hospital and said it would file a short reply on his medical records by tomorrowA bench of Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices Surya Kant and A S Bopanna asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing for the state government to file the medical records by WednesdayAt the outset Mehta said he had preliminary objection to the habeas corpus petition filed by KUWJ as Kappan has been in judicial custody under the judicial orderHe said the habeas corpus petition was not maintainable in the case where an accused is under judicial custodyAdvocate Wills Mathew appearing for KUWJ said that on April 20 he fell in the bathroom and on April 21 he was tested positive for COVID19He added that besides the reliefs being sought Kappan should also be allowed to talk to his mother via video conferenceThe bench which was facing difficulty in hearing the arguments due to connectivity issue adjourned the matter for WednesdayldquoWhen we are adjourning the matter for detailed hearing for tomorrow why are you making arguments nowrdquo the bench told MathewIt asked Mehta to file medical records of Kappan by Wednesday to which the solicitor general agreedKappans wife recently wrote to CJI Ramana seeking his immediate release from the hospital alleging he is chained like an animal in a cot thereRaihanth Kappan claimed in the letter written to the CJI that Kappan received injuries on April 20 after falling in the jail bathroom and was reported COVID19 positive a day laterShe said he was shifted to K M Medical College Mathura on April 21 where he is presently chained like an animal in a cot of the hospital without mobility and he neither could take food nor could go to toilet for the last more than 4 days and is very criticalOn November 16 last year the top court had sought a response from the Uttar Pradesh government on the plea challenging the arrest of the journalistThe FIR has been filed under various provisions of the IPC and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act UAPA against four people having alleged links with the Popular Front of India or PFIPFI had been accused in the past of funding protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act across the country earlier this year The KUWJ had filed a habeas corpus petition in the top court against his arrest and immediate release from ldquoillegal detentionrdquoThe police had said it arrested four people having links with the PFI in Mathura Siddique from Malappuram Atiqur Rehman from Muzaffarnagar Masood Ahmed from Bahraich and Alam from RampurThe plea stated that the arrest was made in violation of the mandatory guidelines laid down by the apex court and with the sole intention of obstructing the discharge of duty by a journalistKappan was arrested on way to Hathras which has been in the news following the death of a 19yearold Dalit woman who was allegedly gangraped on September 14 2020 in a village in the districtHer cremation at night by the authorities allegedly without the parents consent has triggered widespread outrageThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever