Produce Siddique Kappan’s medical records, SC tells UP government

The Supreme Court today asked the Uttar Pradesh government for medical records of journalist Siddique Kappan, who recently contracted coronavirus in jail and is now admitted in a Mathura hospital.

Kappan was on his way to report on the gangrape and murder of a Dalit girl by four upper caste Thakur men in Hathras in October 2020 when he was arrested. He was subsequently booked under the anti-terror law UAPA as well as sedition.

"Let us first see the reports. Please produce medical reports tomorrow. If possible, circulate it today,” a bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana directed.

The court was hearing a petition by the Kerala Union of Working Journalists asking that the ailing journalist be shifted to AIIMS or Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi. It also took cognisance of a letter sent to the chief justice by Kappan’s wife Raihana. In the letter, she alleged that Kappan was “chained like an animal” to a bed in the hospital and pleaded that he be moved back to the Mathura jail until a decision about his release was made.

Refuting Raihana’s allegation at today’s hearing, the Adityanath government said it would file a short reply about Kappan’s medical records by Wednesday, the Indian Express reported.

On April 25, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote to Adityanath seeking his intervention in Kappan’s treatment. The same day, 11 Kerala MPs wrote to Justice NV Ramana asking for an "urgent hearing" on Kappan's case.