New Delhi: The mother of journalist Siddique Kappan – jailed from the time he was captured while on his way to Hathras – passed away on Friday, June 18.
Kappan’s 90-year-old mother, Khadeeja Kutty, had been ill. In February, the Supreme Court granted Kappan five days’ bail to see her.
“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,” said the bench headed by Chief Justice of India S.A. Bobde, as The Wire has reported earlier.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had then opposed the interim bail plea filed by Kerala Union for Working Journalists and said that Kappan was being treated as a “martyr” in Kerala, and he may use this opportunity to meet people and further his cause.
The Malayalam-language journalist and the others were arrested on October 5 when they were on their way to report on the gangrape and death of a Dalit teenager.
They were arrested on the “apprehension of causing a breach of peace” but were later slapped with stringent charges of sedition and violation of the anti-terror law UAPA and Information Technology Act.
Three days ago, on June 17, a Mathura court dropped proceedings on charges related to apprehension of breach of peace against Kappan and three others. Police had failed to complete the inquiry against them in the stipulated six months.
In December, the KUWJ had said that Kappan had been “beaten thrice and subjected to mental torture during custody”.
Kappan had since been physically ill himself.
The Supreme Court on April 28, Wednesday, directed the Uttar Pradesh government to shift jailed journalist Siddique Kappan to a government hospital in Delhi for treatment. However, he has been moved back to Mathura Jail from AIIMS, Delhi, under circumstances that remain shrouded in mystery.