E-Paper
Hathras case: Allahabad HC rejects bail plea of journalist Siddique Kappan
The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has rejected the bail application of Kerala-based journalist Siddique Kappan in connection with the Hathras conspiracy case stating that use of tainted money by the applicant (accused) and his colleagues cannot be ruled out
The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has rejected the bail application of Kerala-based journalist Siddique Kappan in connection with the Hathras conspiracy case stating that use of tainted money by the applicant (accused) and his colleagues cannot be ruled out.
A single-judge bench of Justice Krishna Pahal, while rejecting the bail plea on August 2, observed: “It has come up in the investigation that the applicant had no work at Hathras. The State machinery was at tenterhooks owing to the tension prevailing due to various types of information being viral across all forums of media including the internet.”
“The said sojourn of the applicant with co-accused persons who do not belong to media fraternity is a crucial circumstance going against him,” added the court.
“The defence taken by the applicant that he is a journalist and only owing to his professional duty, he wanted to visit the place of Hathras incident stands nullified by the averments in the chargesheet and the persons, he was arrested with, while travelling in a car. The tainted money being used by the applicant and his colleagues cannot be ruled out,” the court said.
“A perusal of the charge-sheet and documents prima facie reveal that the applicant has committed the offence. The bail application is devoid of merits and is accordingly dismissed,” the court added.
Opposing the bail application, Vinod Kumar Shahi, additional advocate general representing the state government in the court, said Kappan was a resident of Kerala and had nothing to do with Hathras.
He was going to Hathras with a mala fide motive and was arrested in Mathura while on way to Hathras, Shahi said. Shahi also pointed out in the court that Kappan and his colleagues had received financial assistance through illegal means which was utilised for illegal activities.
The Uttar Pradesh police had arrested Kappan and three others accompanying him on October 5, 2020, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and The Information Technology Act while they were on way to Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district where a Dalit woman was allegedly gang-raped on September 14, 2020.
The woman died at a Delhi hospital on September 29, 2020. According to the police six smartphones, one laptop and pamphlets were recovered from them. The prosecution alleged that after an inquiry it came out that the applicant and other co-accused persons were travelling allegedly to disturb the harmony of the area.
In July last year, additional sessions judge, Mathura, Anil Kumar Pandey had rejected Kappan’s bail application. Rejecting the bail, the court had stated that Kappan and others committed acts that promoted enmity in the society. At present, Kappan and his three colleagues are lodged in Lucknow prison and none of them have got bail.
