Arrest of Kerala journalist, three others: Case transferred to addl DJ

AGRA : The additional district and sessions judge-I of Mathura will now hear the case involving Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan and three others, with a court here holding that the chief judicial magistrate was not competent to hear the matter and order remand of the accused.

Madhuban Dutt Chaturvedi, the counsel for three of the accused, confirmed this after orders passed by the district and sessions judge earlier this week.

“This transfer is the sequel to an application moved by the Special Task Force, heard and disposed of by the district and sessions judge. Interestingly, we too were challenging the jurisdiction of the chief judicial magistrate but our plea was rejected, earlier,” said Chaturvedi.

The transfer of case took place in the light of the apex court judgement that no court except that of the sessions judge was authorised to hear a case of this nature.

Now with the latest order passed earlier this week by the district and sessions judge, all the records and remand papers are to be transferred from the court of the chief judicial magistrate to the court of additional district and sessions judge I who would now hear the matter.

It may be recalled that journalist Kappan and three others were arrested by Mathura police on October 5. They were on way to a village in Hathras to meet the family members of a dalit woman who was allegedly brutalised, gang raped and killed..

These four, including Kappan, Atiqur Rahman, Aalam and Masood, were arrested on charges of having links with the Popular Front of India. They were initially booked for breach of peace and later under various provisions of the IPC and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

The case was probed by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) after it was handed over to it by the crime branch of Mathura. The STF had moved the application on which the transfer of case took place.