Chief Justice of India SA Bobde argued Wednesday that Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami’s bail statement cannot be compared to that of Kerala-based journalist Siddique Kappan, as ” each case was different “, Bar and bench reported.
The matter arose during a hearing on the habeas corpus petition filed by the Kerala Union of Worker Journalists challenging Kappan’s detention. Kappan was arrested along with three others in Mathura in October while on his way to cover the Hathras murder and gangrape case. Subsequently, the Uttar Pradesh police searched him and others under the Illicit Activity (Prevention) Act and sedition charges.
During the hearing, Attorney General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the Uttar Pradesh government, argued that the guilty plea in the Kappan case was not presented by him, but by the union. “The defendant is not the party here in the matter,” he told the court.
Sibal responded, saying that he would implement Kappan’s wife in the guilty plea and would like to discuss the matter in court. “The Superior Court has granted a month of habeas corpus time for other defendants in the same case and I want to argue here,” Sibal said, according to PTI. “Hear me finally.”
When CJI Bobde asked why the petitioner had not moved to the Allahabad High Court as recommended, Sibal noted that the Supreme Court held a special session for Goswami and granted him bail on November 11, even though the matter it was pending in the Bombay High Court. “In the case of Arnab Goswami, the bond was pending before a lower court and still this court considered it,” Sibal told the court.
To this, the Chief Justice of India replied, “Every case is different.”
The court, also made up of judges AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, also rejected Sibal’s request not to postpone the matter, citing the journalist’s personal freedom. “Please don’t list after two weeks … This is about freedom,“ Sibal said.
The Supreme Court adjourned the matter until next week.
The Supreme Court had granted provisional bail to Arnab Goswami, who was arrested in 2018 for instigating a suicide case by the Maharashtra Police. During the hearing, Judge DY Chandrachud had expressed his disgust with the Bombay High Court, saying that constitutional courts have a duty to intervene when personal freedom is at stake. On November 27, the court explained its decision to hear Goswami’s case with priority, noting that criminal law should not become “a tool for the targeted harassment of citizens.”
CJI: we will ask you again why you do not go to the HC
SIBAL: In the Arnab Goswamis case, bail was pending in a lower court and still this Court considered it.
CJi: Every case is different
SG: claimed to work for Texas which closed in 2018
– Bar and bank (@barandbench) December 2, 2020
‘Shocking findings against Kappan’: UP government
During Wednesday’s hearing on Kappan’s release, the Uttar Pradesh government told the Supreme Court that “shocking findings” have so far emerged in the investigation against the journalist.
“The defendant was found with an identity card from a newspaper that was closed three years ago,” Attorney General Mehta told the court, according to Living law. “What kind of journalist is he?”
The Uttar Pradesh government, in its affidavit before the Supreme Court last month, had made multiple claims about Kappan, including that he had been using a “journalist’s cover” and an identity card from a Kerala-based newspaper. Roof tiles which closed in 2018. However, it has not provided any evidence to back up the claim.
“It is revealed during the investigation that he, along with other PFI activists and their student wing [Campus Front of India] The leaders came to Hathras under the garb of journalism with a very determined design to create a division of castes and to disturb the situation of law and order. [and] they were found carrying incriminating material, ”the Uttar Pradesh government had stated.
The case registered against Kappan and others relates to the alleged conspiracy to instigate caste-based riots and to smear the state government for the rape and murder case.
The state government has alleged that Kappan held an official position in the Popular Front of India, a Kerala-based organization that the state government has attempted to ban for his alleged involvement in violence during protests against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act. .
Kappan ‘beaten with lathi, subjected to mental torture’, alleges union
Meanwhile, the Kerala Union of Worker Journalists, in its affidavit before the Supreme Court, alleged on Tuesday that Kappan was “beaten with lathi and slapped” in Mathura prison. Bar and bench reported.
The rejoinder affidavit cited observations from a half-hour meeting between KUWJ attorney Wills Mathews and Kappan at Mathura jail on Nov.21, according to The wire.
He claimed that Kappan was denied sleep and medications on October 5 and 6, even though he is diabetic and takes medication. Kappan was beaten, dragged away by jail authorities and subjected to “mental torture,” the affidavit added.
The KUWJ further stated that the Uttar Pradesh government has provided “misleading facts” in its court submissions and that Kappan was arrested “on instructions.“, despite the fact that “no incriminating material was found” of his possession.
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