SC orders UP govt to shift jailed journalist Siddique Kappan to Delhi hospital for therapy

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Uttar Pradesh authorities to shift journalist Siddique Kappan to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) or some other authorities hospital in New Delhi for therapy. Kappan, who suffers from diabetes and coronary heart illnesses, contracted Covid-19 in Mathura jail and is being handled at Mathura Medical College Hospital.
The bench, headed by Chief Justice of India N V Ramana, stated Kappan can be despatched again to Mathura jail after he recovers from the illness.
The court docket was listening to an software filed by the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ), which stated Kappan had collapsed in a toilet at Mathura jail, and later examined constructive for Covid-19. KUWJ sought the court docket’s course to shift Kappan to AIIMS.
In court docket, the UP authorities opposed permitting Kappan to hunt therapy outdoors the state, saying different inmates had been being handled in state hospitals.
Kappan’s spouse had written to the Chief Justice of India elevating issues about his situation within the hospital. She claimed Kappan was “chained like an animal to a cot of the Medical College Hospital, Mathura, without mobility, and he could neither take food nor go to the toilet for the last more than four days, and is very critical”.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayai Vijayan had additionally written to his UP counterpart Yogi Adityanath requesting him to intervene and guarantee Kappan be supplied professional well being care.
Kappan was picked up by the UP Police in Mathura on October 5, 2020, whereas on his method to cowl the Hathras gangrape case. The police stated he was a part of an alleged conspiracy to inflame non secular enmity over the incident. He is in custody beneath the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).