Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan to walk out of jail after over two years
In the release order, district and sessions judge Sanjay Shanker Pandey directed the Lucknow prison superintendent to release Kappan if he is not wanted in any other case.
The Lucknow sessions court on Wednesday signed bail orders to release Kerala-based Journalist Siddique Kappan from Lucknow jail.
Kappan, arrested in October 2020 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) lodged by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), will walk out of Lucknow prison on Thursday morning after remaining in jail for more than two years.
“Sessions court has signed release orders of Siddique Kappan. He will be released from prison on Thursday morning,” said Kappan’s lawyer Ishan Baghel, on Wednesday.
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In the release order, district and sessions judge Sanjay Shanker Pandey directed the Lucknow prison superintendent to release Kappan if he is not wanted in any other case.
The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court on December 23, 2022, granted bail to Kappan in the PMLA case.
A single bench of justice DK Singh granted bail to the journalist, noting that the ED’s investigation lacked ascribing any specific role to Kappan in the case relating to an illicit transaction of money to the tune of ₹1.36 crore, allegedly collected by now banned Popular Front of India (PFI) to spread terror in the country.
On September 9, 2022, the Supreme Court too granted bail to Kappan in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act case. However, he remained in prison due to a pending PMLA case.
A resident of Malappuram in Kerala, Kappan was on his way to cover the gang rape and murder of a Dalit woman in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras town on October 5, 2020, when he was arrested from Mathura toll plaza, along with three others.
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Police claimed the accused were active members of the PFI and were trying to disturb law and order in the area.
The journalist was booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including UAPA, and the Information Technology (IT) Act.
He was later booked by the Enforcement Directorate in the PMLA case.
