Plea in Supreme Court for Kappan bail to meet ailing mother

The Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) has filed a fresh application in the Supreme Court seeking interim bail for five days for journalist Sidhique Kappan to meet his ailing mother.

Kappan was arrested by UP Police on October 5 last year. According to the journalists body, he was on way to meet the family of the Hathras victim when he was picked up and charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

During the hearing of the matter on January 22, the counsel for the petitioner had urged the court to allow Kappan’s mother, Kadija Kutty, who is in her 90s, to see the journalist via video conferencing, and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for UP, had assured to get it done.

In the fresh application, the KUWJ said that the health of Kadeeja Kutty, who was already “bed-ridden and extremely unwell…has further deteriorated” and that “whenever she gains consciousness, she is demanding to meet her son, and requesting everyone that its the last wish of a mother to see her son”.

It said that following the S-G’s assurance, Mathura jail officials had arranged a 10-minute video call with her on January 28 at about 2 pm “but the mother could not respond, or look at the screen of the mobile as she is presently very critical and in hospital”.

Stating that Kappan is ready to comply with any condition imposed by the court, the petition stated that there was no recovery from him yet, and that he is willing to undergo narco analysis or any other scientific test to prove his innocence and ready to furnish details of his and family members income.

KUWJ had earlier filed a bail petition before the court and the same is pending.

‘Whenever she regains memory, she asks, where is my son ?’

Thiruvananthapuram: Sidhique Kappan’s wife Raihana, who lives in Kerala, said his mother’s health condition has deteriorated after she came to know that her son is in jail. “She is fighting Alzheimer’s. However, whenever she gets memories back, she asks, ‘where my son is’,” Raihana said.

“Before being jailed, Kappan used to call his mother every day. She is now missing her son for more than four months. Recently, we somehow managed to inform her that her son is in jail. When Kappan had a video call from jail last week, his mother could not speak, as she had been unconscious then. We are all waiting for his return to visit his bed-ridden mother,’’ she said. —Shaju Philip