Habeas corpus petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking the release of Kerala.
journalist Siddique Kappan after he was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police on October 5 in hathras.
Journalist Kappan was arrested on October 5 at a toll plaza near Hathras in Uttar Pradesh.
while he was on his way to cover the horrific gang-rape and subsequent cremation of a 19-year-old Dalit woman.
The plea filed by Kerala Union of Working Journalists.
Through Advocate Shweta Garg states that the arrest was in total violation of guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in DK Basu v. State of West Bengal.
The petition also makes a case for equal access for journalists covering the Hathras incident. It states,
“The ultimate test of democracy lies in the freedom of speech and expression.
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Media is the breath of democracy.
Denial of access of the journalists to the place of news seriously connected with the dignified life of citizens for reporting is a gross violation of Article 14, 19(1)(a) and 21 of the Constitution.”
Plea filed by Kerala Union of Working Journalists
The petitioner union thus seeks the immediate release of Kappan, a journalist working with news portal www.azhimukham.com.
Source : http://bar&bench