Journalist Siddique Kappan, who is out on bail, will no longer need to visit the police station weekly in Uttar Pradesh to record his presence. A bench of Supreme Court Justices PS Narasimha and Sandeep Mehta relaxed his bail conditions while hearing a petition filed by the journalist seeking the same. In September 2022, the Supreme Court granted him bail in the alleged Hathras conspiracy case, and one of the bail conditions was that he should record his presence in the Uttar Pradesh police station every Monday.
"Order dated 9th September 2022 is modified and it shall not be necessary for the petitioner to report to the local police station,” the bench said.
Siddique was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police in October 2020 when he was on his way to cover the Hathras rape case and was booked under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) by the Uttar Pradesh government. Later, he was booked in other cases, including one filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The top court granted him bail, 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.
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.
