New Delhi, April 27: 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 gang-raped.
Kerala 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 COVID-19. The 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 Wednesday.
A 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 Wednesday. At 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 order.
He said the habeas corpus petition was not maintainable in the case where an accused is under judicial custody.
Advocate Wills Mathew, appearing for KUWJ, said that on April 20 he fell in the bathroom and on April 21 he was tested positive for COVID-19. He added that besides the reliefs being sought, Kappan should also be allowed to talk to his mother via video conference. The bench, which was facing difficulty in hearing the arguments due to connectivity issue, adjourned the matter for Wednesday.
Kappan’s wife had recently wrote to CJI, seeking his immediate release from the hospital. (PTI)
