Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan gets 5-day interim bail to meet ailing mother

The Apex Court granted bail on conditions of not meeting the public except his close relatives and doctors concerned.

Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan who was arrested on his way to Hathras in Uttar Pradesh in October 2020, got five-days' interim bail to meet his ailing mother. The Apex Court granted bail on conditions of not meeting the public except his close relatives and doctors concerned. A bench of three judges headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde and Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian also put restrictions on him for giving interviews to the media or posting anything on social media.

Mr Kappan had asked for permission of bail due to the deteriorating condition of his mother and his lawyer Kapil Sibal told the court that doctors had given up on her condition, saying that she may not survive for long, reported Hindustan Times. The court also said that Mr Kappan shall be accompanied by UP cops to Kerala and will have to report back to the prison in Uttar Pradesh by the end of the fifth day.

Last month, he was allowed to speak to his mother through a video call but he reportedly could not speak to her since she was unconscious at a hospital in his hometown in Kerala's Malappuram, reported NDTV. Reportedly, the court allowed the call after Mr Sibal argued that Mr Kappan's mother was ill and had asked to speak to her son. "I don't mind the court dismissing it (the petition) but hear us. Mr Kappan's mother is unconscious... we filed an application. Before his mother passes away, allow video conferencing so that he can talk to her," he had argued.

Mr Kappan and three others had been accused of links with Popular Front of India (PFI) and arrested on the charges by the UP Police. Other three accused were Atiq-ur Rehman from Muzaffarnagar, Masood Ahmed from Bahraich and Alam from Rampur. All of them were on their way to Hathras to report on the alleged gangrape of the Dalit woman who later succumbed to her wounds.