Opinion How we fought for Siddique Kappan

Kappan, who was reporting for a small Malayalam news portal, azhimukham.com, like any other reporter, was looking forward to finding new angles and facts of the incident that shook the country. He had checked with other reporters going to Hathras so he could travel with them. Many of the reporters had already reached there, some were planning to go.

Earlier, Kappan worked with Thejas and later with Thalsamayam. He was active in the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ). In 2019, he was elected unopposed as secretary of the KUWJ. He is also a member of the Press Club of India and the Delhi Union of Journalists.

Kappan has been working in Delhi for about six years. He can communicate in Hindi. When we came to know that he is possibly detained, we thought it may be a case of mistaken identity. We thought he would be released from custody without much fuss. But that did not happen. None of us could contact him. We tried through our sources and friends in the police establishment. Some of the people we contacted are known to Kappan too. They also assumed that it was a case of mistaken identity. By late evening, we were told that he could be released soon. But around 11 pm, we were told that people in Lucknow have decided to impose the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act against Kappan. Even then, there was no information about his whereabouts. His family was also not informed of his arrest.

We had heard and reported about academics and activists who languish in jails under UAPA charges. We hurriedly started discussions among ourselves to deal with the unfortunate situation now faced by one of our own. We reached out to the state committee of the KUWJ, the colleagues in the Delhi Union of Journalists, Press Club of India and other journalists’ bodies. We approached our advocate, Wills Mathews, and told him that there is no information from Kappan. He suggested that we must file a habeas corpus petition. KUWJ’s president Miji Jose filed the petition on October 6, 2020. She was badly trolled on social media for this bold step. There was even a hate campaign against the KUWJ and its leaders, which continues to this day.

It took almost six months – and court dates — to dispose of the habeas corpus petition. Generally, in higher courts, habeas corpus petitions are decided within a week. But the delay in this case was due to the Uttar Pradesh government taking time to submit affidavits and the restraints due to the pandemic.

In the meantime, we were fortunate to have senior lawyer Kapil Sibal’s help. Sibal has a long association with the KUWJ. He cleared the general apprehensions about a union filing a habeas corpus case. He stood like a rock behind us in the firm belief and conviction that this fight is also for the freedom of press in the country. He appeared for the case till the day Kappan got bail.

As the Supreme Court was considering the case, we were also fighting to ensure proper medical attention to Kappan in jail. He is severely diabetic and has other health issues. He contacted Covid twice during his jail term. The SC had to intervene to ensure treatment for him at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. We came to know that he was even tied to a bed when he was under treatment at a hospital in UP. Kappan’s mother was ill and the apex court provided him five days’ bail to visit her. She later passed away and Kappan could not attend the last rites of his mother.

When the habeas corpus petition was settled, we approached the lower court in Mathura for bail. The lower court rejected Kappan’s bail application. By this time, his court and subsequently the jail he was housed at too got shifted to Lucknow, as the Mathura court had no jurisdiction to handle UAPA cases. As the habeas corpus petition was settled, Kappan’s wife was a signatory in the cases at the Lucknow court and the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court. Advocates IB Singh and Ishan Baghel helped us to fight the case there.

The fact is that the Uttar Pradesh Police has not given the full chargesheet to Kappan yet. We filed a special application in the Mathura court, stating that it is Kappan’s basic right to get a copy of the chargesheet. We had to move the High Court without a proper chargesheet. The High Court later rejected his bail application and Kappan moved the Supreme Court.

For us, Kappan is a victim of the attacks against the freedom of press. Our arguments were based on the Constitution and the Norms of Journalistic Conduct issued by the Press Council of India under the Press Council Act of 1978. As the Chief Justice of India said in open court, Kappan was trying to speak for someone who was brutally raped and killed. Once again, by giving bail to Kappan, the apex court reinforced our constitutional values. The KUWJ is thankful to all those who stood with Kappan, his family and the union. We will continue the legal fight in the trial court.

The writer is a journalist with Deshabhimani and the Vice President of Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ), Delhi