Hathras conspiracy case: Supreme Court grants bail to Kerala-based journalist Siddique Kappan while imposing certain conditions.
The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court had earlier this month denied the bail application of Kappan, who was booked under the UAPA in the alleged Hathras conspiracy case. Published: 09th September 2022 01:44 PM
The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to Kerala-based journalist Siddique Kappan, arrested in October 2020 while on his way to Hathras in Uttar Pradesh where a Dalit girl woman had died after being brutally gang-raped.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit directed Kappan to remain in Delhi for the next six weeks after their release from an Uttar Pradesh prison. The bench imposed certain conditions on him including asking him to surrender his passport and report to the police station every Monday.
The apex court last month sought a response from the Uttar Pradesh government on the Kerala-based scribe’s bail plea. The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court had earlier this month rejected the bail application of Kappan, who was booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the alleged Hathras conspiracy case.
The FIR had been filed under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the UAPA against four persons having alleged links with the Popular Front of India (PFI). The PFI had been accused in the past of funding protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act across the country. The police had earlier claimed that the accused was trying to disturb the law and order in Hathras.
Siddique Kappan’s daughter’s Video Went Viral on Independence Day
Jailed Kerala-based journalist Siddique Kappan’s daughter took to her school stage on Monday, 15 August, to speak on the occasion of India’s 76th Independence Day.
“I am Mehnaz Kappan. Daughter of journalist Siddique Kappan, a citizen who has been forced into a dark room by breaking all of the freedom of a citizen,” she said, in an article shared by The Quint. The nine-year-old appealed to protect citizens’ rights. “I am Mehnaz Kappan, daughter of journalist Siddique Kappan, a citizen who has been forced into a dark room by breaking all of the freedom of a citizen.” This speech by his daughter has gone viral.
“The freedom that we enjoy today is the end result of the life sacrifices made by Gandhi, Nehru, Bhagat Singh, and many more blessed heroes and revolutionaries,” she said.