The Kerala Union of Working Journalists on Thursday sought the Supreme Court’s intervention to shift journalist Siddique Kappan to a hospital in Delhi after he tested positive for Covid-19 in Mathura jail where he has been incarcerated since October.

KUWJ has been providing legal support to Kappan, the secretary of the union’s Delhi unit, who was arrested on October 5 on his way to Hathras in Uttar Pradesh to report the gang rape of a Dalit girl.

His lawyer Wills Mathew told The Telegraph that the Supreme Court was informed of the latest development in a letter filed on Thursday. “We have requested an order for Kappan to be shifted to either All India Institute of Medical Sciences or Safdarjang Hospital in Delhi,” Mathew said.

Jail authorities had on Wednesday informed Mathew about Kappan’s health condition and the fact that he was first taken to the prison hospital and then moved to KM Medical College Hospital. “I got a call from the prison yesterday (Wednesday) about Kappan collapsing the previous night and that he was hospitalised. But since then, I have had no updates on his health,” Mathew said.

The petitioner informed the apex court that Kappan, who is a diabetic with hypertension and high cholesterol, used to vomit after consuming the prison food of lentils and chapatis because of the oil used in cooking. The court was also informed that about 50 inmates in Mathura jail had tested positive for Covid-19.

Kappan was arrested along with three member of Popular Front of India, a Muslim rights organisation. While the UP police had accused Kappan and the others of travelling to Hathras to foment tension, the journalist had maintained that he was innocent.

They were all named in a 5,000-page charge sheet filed in a Mathura court recently.

Kappan’s wife Raihanath told this newspaper that he had fever when she last spoke to him. “When he called me on Tuesday, he had fever and sounded very exhausted. I have no idea about his current medical condition since we are not getting any information from there,” Raihanath told The Telegraph on Thursday.

She said Kappan used to fast on account of Ramzan, but only had access to jail food comprising lentils and chapati. “He was already highly stressed out with the case. His sugar levels were quite high since he was jailed. I don’t have any other information,” said the mother of three children who lives in Vengara in Malappuram.

Earlier in the day, Raihanath spoke to CPM politburo member M.A. Baby and sought his help to get proper medical help for Kappan. “He asked me to immediately contact the chief minister’s office, which I did. I expect the government to do something to save my husband who is innocent and yet in jail,” she said.

She is scheduled to address a press conference in Kozhikode on Friday to present a set of demands to the state government to free Kappan.