India: Court directs shifting of Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan to Delhi govt hospital

New Delhi - Kappan’s wife had pleaded with the chief justice, seeking his help.

By Web Report

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Published: Wed 28 Apr 2021, 3:09 PM

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Uttar Pradesh government to shift Kerala-based journalist Siddique Kappan to a government hospital in Delhi for treatment, instead of letting him continue in a Mathura jail.

Kappan’s wife had pleaded with the chief justice, seeking his help. She had written to him, noting that her husband had been chained like an animal to a cot of a medical college hospital in Mathura. He was extremely critical and could not eat nor go to the toilet for the past four days, she said.


The Kerala Union of Working Journalists, in its application to the apex court, said Kappan had fallen in a bathroom in the jail and had tested positive for Covid-19. It sought the court’s direction to shift him to the All India Institute of Medical Science, Delhi.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan had written to Yogi Adityanath, his UP counterpart, asking him to ensure adequate care for the journalist. However, the state government has opposed the move to shift him to Delhi, claiming there were other inmates also being treated in state hospitals.


The police in UP had picked Kappan last October when he was in the state to cover the Hathras gangrape case. He was accused of being part of a conspiracy to inflame religious enmity over the incident and was arrested under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

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