Kerala Union of Working journalists application seeking interim bail for journalist Siddiqui Kappan to meet his 90 years old ailing bed-ridden mother has been accepted by Supreme Court of India on Monday.
The bench led by Chief Justice of India, Sharad A Bobde observed, "Mother is said to be in a critical situation and that she is likely not to survive for many days. In these circumstances, we consider it appropriate to permit the detenu to visit his mother and return to prison at the end of the 5th day."
According to a report published in Live Law, the order has been passed on an emotional appeal. The Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta expressed apprehensions that the detenu will gather support for himself in the garb of meeting his mother.
The CJI then director to impose several conditions on his bail. The CJI led bench ordered, "We permit Kappan to go to Kerala only for the purpose of seeing his mother. During the visit, he shall not give any interview to any media, including social media."
Moreover, he won't meet anyone else except his relatives and doctors looking after his mother's health. Kappan will be escorted by the officers of UP Police and Kerala police is expected to cooperate with them. Court also said it will be a responsibility of Uttar Pradesh police to ensure the detenu's travel to and from his mother's house.
The court clarified that police won't be present when he interacts with his mother and the police shall protect Kappan's house from outside.
Siddique Kappan was arrested in October last year while on his way to cover the Hathras gang rape in Uttar Pradesh.
Read More: Arrested on his way to Hathras, Malayalam journalist Kappan awaits release