New Delhi: Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan was beaten with a lathi, slapped thrice and mentally tortured while in custody, the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) has told the Supreme Court. Kappan was arrested on 5 October while on his way to Hathras to report the aftermath of the alleged gang rape and death of a Dalit woman.
In an affidavit filed on 30 November, the KUWJ claimed that advocate Wills Mathews met Kappan on 21 November for 30 minutes and “was shocked to hear that Mr. Kappan was beaten with lathi three times on his thigh, slapped three times after taking out the spectacles, dragged, forced to stay awake from 6pm to 6am depriving him of the sleep, without proper medicines, along with serious mental torture from 05.10.2020 to 06.10.2020”.
The affidavit further asserts that Kappan wanted to go to Hathras “in discharge of his journalistic duties”.
“The accused Mr. Siddique Kappan specifically requested the lawyer to make a request to this Hon’ble court, to permit him to undergo Narco Analysis test or Brain mapping test or Lie Detector test, or any other scientific test to show that, he/the accused is innocent,” it added.
The affidavit was filed in response to one filed by the Uttar Pradesh government and the UP Director General of Police earlier this month. The government affidavit had claimed that KUWJ had concealed the fact that a lawyer had appeared for Kappan before the magistrate in Mathura where he was produced after his arrest on 6 October. It also denied claims of not informing the family of Kappan’s whereabouts, and said his brother was informed of the arrest and given details of the place and time of his custody.
According to the state, no lawyer or family approached jail authorities with a request to meet Kappan. However, he has spoken with his family members on three occasions, it stated.
In response, KUWJ has now called the government affidavit “false, frivolous, against the records of the case and self contradictory”.
It therefore sought an “independent enquiry by a retired Judge of this Hon’ble Court to determine the facts connected with the illegal arrest and detention of accused”.
Also read: Among UP’s ‘incriminating’ evidence against Kappan — ‘Justice for Hathras victim’ flyer
Arnab Goswami case cited
The KUWJ affidavit cited the Supreme Court’s recent judgment that granted bail to Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami and two others on 11 November in a 2018 abetment to suicide case.
In its judgment, the court observed, “The doors of this Court cannot be closed to a citizen who is able to establish prima facie that the instrumentality of the State is being weaponized for using the force of criminal law.”
KUWJ cited this observation to submit that its habeas corpus petition is maintainable.
The affidavit also alleged that while the arrest memo said that Kappan was arrested around 4:50pm on 5 October, the actual time of arrest was 10:20am that day.
It also refuted several other claims made in the government affidavit. For instance, while the government affidavit said that no lawyer ever approached jail authorities with a vakalatnama to be signed, KUWJ asserted that Mathews did request for a meeting with Kappan in jail on 16 October. A vakalatnama is a document that empowers a lawyer to act for and on behalf of his client.
KUWJ has also demanded a direction for safe custody of all video recordings of the New Mathura jail premises, where Kappan is lodged, from that 16 October, in order to prove its point.
The affidavit further denied any association of Kappan with the Popular Front of India (PFI), an allegation the UP Police has levelled.
Also read: Arnab Goswami’s swift bail should be the rule for undertrials. Not the exception
5-minute phone call after 43 days in custody
Kappan was arrested on 5 October at a toll plaza in Mathura along with three others under Section 151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which allows an arrest to prevent commission of a cognizable offence.
A day after his arrest, KUWJ filed a habeas corpus petition in the Supreme Court, demanding his release. This was after KUWJ office-bearers, as well as Kappan’s family, claimed were unable to contact Kappan or get any information on his whereabouts for over 24 hours after his arrest.
The habeas corpus said the arrest was “with a view to obstruct the discharge of duty of the detenu in the capacity as journalist”. It alleged that the Supreme Court’s guidelines for arrest and detention were violated as neither his family members nor his colleagues were informed about the arrest or the place of his detention.
A day after this petition was filed, an FIR was registered on 7 October in Mathura, charging Kappan under Section 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.
In a subsequent application filed on 29 October, the KUWJ alleged that multiple attempts from their side to meet Kappan since his arrest had failed. This application had, therefore, demanded a direction to jail authorities to allow Kappan to “sign a vakalatnama, authorising his legal representatives to act on his behalf in his legal defence”.
According to his lawyer Wills Mathews, he was able to speak to Kappan on 17 November for five minutes, after 43 days in custody.
Also read: After 43 days in UP jail, Kerala journalist finally gets to talk to lawyer for 5 mins on phone