A bench headed by Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit directed Kappan to remain in Delhi for the next six weeks after his release from an Uttar Pradesh prison.
Opposing the bail plea moved by Kappan, the UP government said the investigation has revealed clear links between the accused and PFI/CFI (Popular Front of India/Campus Front of India) top leadership, namely Kamal KP and Oma Salaam.
Siddique Kapan: A tale of two years
Siddique Kappan, is a journalist working for the Malayalam news portal Azhimukham and secretary of the Delhi unit of Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ), was arrested along with three others in Uttar Pradesh in October 2020 while on his way to Hathras to report on the gang-rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit woman.
He was booked under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act in Hathras conspiracy case by the Uttar Pradesh government. The Uttar Pradesh Police had arrested Kappan and three others on October 5, 2020, from the Mant area of Mathura. Police had claimed that the accused were travelling to Hathras to disturb peace and harmony in the area. The FIR has been filed under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the UAPA against four people having alleged links with the Popular Front of India (PFI).
The police had said it arrested four people having links with the PFI in Mathura and identified those arrested as Siddique from Malappuram, Atiq-ur-Rehman from Muzaffarnagar, Masood Ahmed from Bahraich and Alam from Rampur.
However, Kappan, a reporter for Malayalam news portal Azhimukham and secretary of the Delhi unit of Kerala Union of Working Journalists, has maintained that he was going there to report on the gang-rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit girl- the incident that sparked a furor in September 2020.
Siddique Kappan and others were charged under Sections 17 and 18 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Section 124A (sedition), Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion) and Section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) of Indian Penal Code and Sections 65, 72 and 75 of the Information Technology Act.
The Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court last month rejected the bail application of journalist Siddique Kappan who was booked under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act in Hathras conspiracy case. A single bench of Justice Krishan Pahal passed the rejection order.
