E-Paper
Supreme Court grants bail to Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan
Journalist Siddique Kappan had been behind the bars since October 2020 while he was reporting on the gangrape and death of a Dalit woman in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh. Kappan had been booked under provisions of the UAPA.
Chief Justice of India UU Lalit on Friday said the Supreme Court will grant bail to journalist Siddique Kappan. The journalist from Kerala was arrested in October 2020 under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) when he was on his way to Hathras in Uttar Pradesh where a Dalit woman had died after allegedly being gang-raped.
The journalist will be released after being produced before the trial court in three days. The top court asked Kappan to be in Delhi for the next six weeks and mark his presence with the local police station at Nizamuddin every week. Some other conditions have also been imposed.
After six weeks, the journalist will be allowed to travel to Mallapuram in Kerala where he shall report each week to the local police station. He has to deposit his passport before release and has been restrained from misusing his liberty by getting in touch with the witnesses, the court said.
Opposing his bail, the UP government had earlier told the top court that Kappan had deep links with the PFI and was part of a larger conspiracy to "incite religious discord and spread terror".
The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court had earlier rejected his bail application.
Following his release, Kappan's wife Rahyanth said that for two years, the family had suffered a lot. "We are really grateful to the judiciary. Journalist community also stood with us," Rahyanth said. Kappan's mother passed away in June 2021 while he was in jail. In February 2021, the SC had granted him five days to visit his ailing mother.
Muslim League MP ET Mohammad Basheer hailed the apex court verdict, while adding many such undertrials are languishing in jail.
"It is really good, finally he got bail. Many such undertrials are languishing in jail. Such orders will increase people's faith in judiciary," said Basheer.
He also lauded the Kerala Working Journalists' Union for vigorously pursuing the case.
The sexual assault victim had died at a Delhi hospital a fortnight after her alleged rape by four men from her village in Hathras on September 14, 2020. She was cremated in the middle of the night in her village. Her family members had claimed the cremation took place without their consent and that they were not allowed to bring home the body one last time.
(With inputs from bureau and agencies)
