New Delhi: On Monday, the Supreme Court allowed the application for interim bail that was filed by the Kerala Union of Working Journalists. The application seeks to release the journalist Siddique Kappan with citing the health conditions of his 90-yr old mother. Her last wish was to see her son.
The bench led by CJI SA Bobde ordered that, “Mother is said to be in a critical situation and that she is likely not to survive for many days. In these circumstances, we consider it appropriate to permit the detenu to visit his mother and return to prison at the end of the 5th day”.
The Bench also clarified that the order was passed based on an emotional appeal and will not prejudice the objections of UP against the maintainability.
A further note by the CJI recorded that the Solicitor General expressed a grave apprehension that detenu may potentially utilize this emotional appeal release order to his advantage and gather support from the public for his activities. This is against the law, noted the Solicitor General.
He, therefore, expressed that it is in the interest of justice that appropriate conditions are outlined on the detenu and relevant safeguards are incorporated into the order for the proposed visit to his mother.
In response, the Bench ordered that “We permit Kappan to go to Kerala only for the purpose of seeing his mother. During the visit, he shall not give any interview to any media, including social media.”
The other bail condition for Kappan’s visit to his mother is as follows:He shall not meet members of the public other than his relatives. He is allowed to meet doctors and anybody else who is connected to his mother’s health
He will be escorted by a team of officers from the UP Police and the Police at Kerala shall cooperate with UP Police.
It is the responsibility of the UP Police to ensure the detenu’s travel to and from his mother’s house.
It was additionally made clear by the CJI that the police shall protect Kappan’s house from the outside or external premises and should not be present when he interacts with his mother.
Courtroom Interchange
During the hearing, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal (appearing for KUWJ) told the Supreme Court that a video call was arranged with the mother of Siddique Kappan on January 28th. However, she could not respond or even look at the smartphone screen due to her severe medical condition and being critical in the hospital.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal also added that “Now doctors are saying that one or two days are left. Hospital has given up. Please give five days to visit. Any conditions may be imposed.”
The Solicitor General Tushar Mehta however expressed reluctance in granting his consent on the question for grant of bail. His brief response was that “There are posters coming up as if Kappan is a martyr. Please allow me to come back tomorrow…”.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal further pressed the issue that if more time is granted to reach a verdict, Kappan’s mother may pass away. He insisted that “Doctors are given notice Kappan’s mother has only one or two days left.”
The Solicitor General, however, alleged that Kappan is a PFI Activist and the medical grounds being claimed by the bail application may be non-existent. The SG additionally noted that even a medical certificate was not produced to outline the status of his mother.
The SG is also quoted saying, “He is associated with PFI which is banned and is being banned in many places. They were trying to incite communal violence…
What is happening in Kerala? There are big posters put up as if he is a freedom fighter. His wife is collecting money for him. He has nothing to do with journalism. He was associated with a paper already shut down…”
The CJI unhappy about the SG’s statements and submissions said that “This is unfair Mr. Mehta. We are talking about the mother.”
He also added that the Supreme Court is taking Sibal’s submissions with regards to Kappan’s mother’s medical condition at face value. The CJI said, “We don’t think a man, whatever he may be, will lie about his dying mother.”
The SG pressed the issue that the instant application was an attempt to circumvent the regular process. He further submitted that “This is a well thought of process thought by the petitioner to circumvent the constitutional process. He has the worst case… He would be paraded publicly. The money will be collected. Will I be justified in consenting?”
The CJI made it clear that the court will impose sufficient conditions on Kappa’s bail to ensure that the said concerns do not happen. The Court also stated that “We are not going to allow him to be paraded and he does not go anywhere except his house and no interviews.”
The Court pulled up references to the Bangalore blast accused and People’s Democratic Party Chairman Abdul Nazar Maudany, who was also permitted to meet his ailing mother in Kerala in 2016. “If you remember, there was a person in Bangalore, who was allowed to travel to Kerala under armed guard”, the CJI said.
Finally, the SG gave his consent for allowing a bail application for two days. The Supreme Court however added that it is inclined to grant bail permission for five days.
Kappan’s Case Overview
The Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) had filed an application before the Supreme Court of India seeking interim bail for the journalist Siddique Kappan. The application cited the deteriorating health conditions of his mother who is 90-years old and bed-ridden with her last wish to see her son.
The affidavit outlined that in concern of Kappan’s mother’s existing critical health condition, his mother has not been informed of her son’s arrest so far. The affidavit further noted that Kappan’s mother’s health has worsened and she is in and out of consciousness. Whenever she regains consciousness, she asks for her son.
Kappan, a freelance journalist, was detained and arrested by the UP Police on October 5th for alleged criminal conspiracy to incite social unrest during the Hathras Rape incident saga. Since then, Siddique Kappan has been kept in jail in Mathura.
The KUWJ filed a habeas corpus petition in the Supreme Court challenging Kappan’s arrest and custody as illegal and unconstitutional.
The Supreme had passed the request by the KUWJ to allow Kappan to video-call his ailing mother who is in Kerala.
In the bail application, the Petitioner claimed that the Mathura Jail Officials arranged only for a 10-minute brief video call on January 28th. However, due to Kappan’s mother’s critical condition, she was not able to answer or respond or even look at the phone screen. Her condition was very critical in the hospital.
On January 22nd, 2021, the counsel for the petitioner had informed this Hon’ble Supreme Court about the 90-year-old Mother of the detenue Mrs. Kadija Kutty, who was bedridden and extremely unwell, repeatedly demanding to talk with the detenue.
The bail plea further states that Mrs. Kutty is drifting in and out of consciousness and whenever she regains her senses, she demands to meet and talk to her son.
