The Supreme Court issued notices to the Uttar Pradesh government and the state police on a plea challenging the detention of Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan. This journalist from Kerala was booked and arrested on his way to a village in Hathras last month.
The SC said it did not want to encourage hearing pleas filed under Article 32 that empowers citizens to seek judicial remedy against violation of fundamental rights.
A habeas corpus petition filed by the Kerala Union of Working Journalists challenging Kappan’s custody was heard by a bench of Chief Justice SA Bobde and Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian. During the last hearing on October 12, the court said it would hear a plea after four weeks and that the petitioner could approach the Allahabad High Court in the interim.
Kappan was illegally detained along with three others on October 5 . He was travelling to meet the family of the 19-year-old Dalit woman from Hathras who was gangraped by four Thakur men. These four men from Kerala were booked under different sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and other provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including sedition, the next day.
The Uttar Pradesh Police have alleged that the four men are linked to the Popular Front of India, a Kerala-based organization. This organization was banned for its alleged involvement in the violence during the protests against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act. A case has been registered against them for their alleged conspiracy to instigate riots emphasizing on the caste lines and defame the state government over the rape-and-murder case.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who appeared for the Kerala Union of Working Journalists, sought interim bail for the journalist, saying he has been in jail since October 4.
Sibal argued that the magistrate did not allow Kappan to meet his lawyers or family or friends, either, he contended. The first information report filed at Chandpa police station of Hathras in the case does not mention Kappan’s name.
The bench asked Sibal to give an explanation as to why they had not considered approaching the High Court when they had the option to. The court said “We are not on merits of the case,” It added that the court is trying to discourage Article 32 petitions which empowers the Supreme Court to provide relief for violation of fundamental rights.
Sibal pointed out that the court has entertained similar petitions of journalists in the past, which should be treated as exceptional circumstances.
The court told Sibal that the court was aware of similar orders in the past and the vast powers that the court possesses under Article 32. Hence the court wants to discourage this trend. The court has issued notices to the Uttar Pradesh government and police. The matter was posted for hearing on Friday.
Meanwhile, the bail plea of the three men – Atif-ur-Rahman, Masood Ahmad and Mohammad Alam was rejected in a court in Mathura on Friday. The three were booked and arrested along with Kappan. Rehman is a student, Ahmad is an activist who is pursuing a PhD, and the third accused Alam, is a cab driver.
