Journalist Siddique Kappan has finally walked out of jail. Kappan, who was under incarceration for more than two years, was released on Thursday, February 2. Siddique Kappan, a 43-year- old journalist from Kerala was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh (UP) police in October 2020 when he was on his way to cover the Hathras rape case. Kappan was booked under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in the Hathras case by the Uttar Pradesh government. Later, he was booked in other cases including one filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The orders to release Siddique Kappan on bail were signed by a Sessions Court in Lucknow on February 1, 2023. While the Supreme Court granted bail to Siddique in September 2021 in a case booked under the UAPA and a Lucknow High Court granted bail in December 2022 in a case booked under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), he remained in jail for the want of furnishing bail surety. Siddique was asked to furnish two sureties of Rs 1 lakh each and a personal bond of the same amount when he was granted bail in the UAPA case. The current PMLA case also needed two fresh local sureties of Rs 1 lakh each and a personal bond.
Siddique Kappan, who is from Malappuram was working in Delhi when he was arrested along with four others. He was on his way to Hathras to cover the rape and murder of a Dalit woman. He was later accused of 'reporting on communal riots' and having links with the Popular Front of India (PFI), which is now a banned organisation. In a 5,000-page chargesheet filed by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force, it was claimed that he "only reported about Muslims" and charged him under Sections 124A (sedition), 153A (promoting enmity) and 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code.
The Supreme Court, however, granted bail to Siddique after observing that the UP government was not able to prove that there was ‘anything provocative in the documents’ that were found in the car in which Siddique was travelling to Hathras. The court also observed that every person has the right to free expression. “He is trying to show that the victim needs justice and raise a common voice. Is that a crime in the eyes of the law?” asked Justice UU Lalit, who was the Chief Justice at that time.
His wife Raihanath Kappan kept up the legal battle ever since his arrest. Kappan was also supported by the Delhi chapter of Kerala Union of Working Journalists, where Siddique was an office bearer at the time of the arrest. Raihnath has been taking care of their three children all these years. Kappan’s mother Khadeeja Kutty died while he was in jail.
Watch: Raihanath Kappan: 'Police didn't even hand him medicines' l Siddique Kappan