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‘Sick, in severe pain’ — contempt plea in SC alleges medical aid denied to Siddique Kappan

The plea demands contempt action against Senior Superintendent of Mathura jail, two special secretaries of UP Department of Home Affairs, chief secretary of UP government and UP DGP.

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New Delhi: Kerala Union of Working Journalists has filed a contempt petition in the Supreme Court alleging that journalist Siddique Kappan, who has been in prison for over a year, is “sick, demoralized and in severe pain” due to lack of medical attention to him.

Kappan was arrested on 5 October 2020 while he was enroute to cover the alleged gang rape and murder of a Dalit woman in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district. He has been accused of attempting to incite violence in the region.

The plea, filed Wednesday, refers to an order passed by the Supreme Court on 28 April this year on the habeas corpus petition filed for Kappan. In the order, the court had observed that “owing to the apparent precarious health condition of the arrestee, it is necessary to provide adequate and effective medical assistance to him and to allay all apprehension relating to his health”.

The court had therefore directed Kappan to be shifted either to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital or to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) or any other government hospital in Delhi for proper medical treatment.

“Needless to say, as soon as Sidhique Kappan recovers and the Doctors certify him fit to be discharged, he would be shifted back to Mathura Jail,” the order had said.

However, the plea now alleges contempt of the court order, stating that Kappan was discharged and shifted to Mathura jail on 6 May, even though he was Covid positive and had high sugar levels and serious dental problems among other ailments.

“The act of discharging Mr. Sidhique Kappan at Midnight on 06.05.2021, even depriving him of his sleep amounted to contempt of court…The accused is still in need of the medical assistance, which was denied to him, and delay in treatment will result in irreparable injury,” the plea said.

It demands contempt action against Senior Superintendent of Mathura jail, two special secretaries of Uttar Pradesh Department of Home Affairs, chief secretary of the UP government and the UP Director General of Police.


Also read: ‘Justice for Hathras victim’ pamphlet, news reports — UP Police ‘proof’ against Kerala scribe


Copy of charge sheet not received by Kappan

According to the plea, Kappan has also not been provided with a copy of the charge sheet, even though it was filed months ago in April.

It states that the accused not having received the charge sheet “is an issue seriously affecting the rule of law, procedure established by law, and above all the credibility of the legal system”.

After Kappan’s arrest, a five-member team of UP Police’s Special Task Force (STF) had filed the charge sheet in the case, in a Mathura court on 3 April against the Kerala journalist and seven others, including Atiq-ur-Rahman, Masood Ahmad and Alam who were arrested with him.

The charge sheet accuses them of sedition and allegedly attempting to incite violence in the state.

It has been filed under sections 124A (sedition), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, etc) and 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage reli­gious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or reli­gious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), along with provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Information Technology Act.

(Edited by Rachel John)


Also read: Shocking facts uncovered in probe against Siddique Kappan, UP govt tells Supreme Court


 

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