SC grants bail to journalist Siddique Kappan

New Delhi: 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 woman had died after allegedly being gang-raped.

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.

The bench imposed certain conditions on him, including asking him to surrender his passport and report to the police station every Monday.

Granting Kappan bail, the bench of CJI and Justices S Ravindra Bhat and P S Narasimha, said every person has the right to freedom of speech and expression.

Opposing the bail plea, senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, who appeared for the UP government, said Kappan was part of a conspiracy by the Popular Front of India (PFI) to incite riots.

Jethmalani said PFI attempted to use the Hathras incident as a tool to foment unrest.

However, the bench turned down the same.

When Jethmalani maintained that Kappan had gone to Hathras to incite riots, CJI Lalit specifically asked which of the material relied upon by the prosecution proved the same.

"Please show the document which proves that he was involved in the riots," CJI Lalit said.

Kappan was directed to stay in Delhi for six weeks and report to the police station in Jangpura.

After six weeks, he will be at liberty to go back to Kerala and similarly mark his attendance at a local police station every Monday, the Court directed.

Kappan was also granted liberty to apply for bail in the proceedings initiated against him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act of 2002.

The bail conditions set by the Court will stand relaxed to the extent Kappan is required to avail the relief of bail in the PMLA case, the Court added.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal and Haris Beeran appeared for Kappan.

Kappan, who has been booked by the Uttar Pradesh government under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), moved the top court challenging the order of the Allahabad High Court which rejected his bail on August 2.