Siddique Kappan has been in prison since 2020. (File photo)
New Delhi:
Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan, detained in Uttar Pradesh for nearly two years, was granted bail by the Supreme Court today, which stated “Everyone has the right to freedom of speech.”
Siddique Kappan was arrested en route to Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras, where he said he would report on the gang rape and murder of a 19-year-old. He was charged under the stringent Unlawful Activity Prevention Act (UAPA) for allegedly financing terrorism.
“That person (Kappan) was detained for two years,” the Chief Justice of India, UU Lalit, noted.
The court said the journalist must report to the police in Delhi in the next six weeks and in Kerala after that. He will be brought before a trial court in three days and he must submit his passport.
A reporter for the Malayalam news portal Azhimukham, Siddique Kappan has been arrested by UP police on charges of attempting to disrupt order and law in Hathras. Police said he was affiliated with the Popular Front of India (PFI). The journalist always says that he is being framed.
In court today, the Uttar Pradesh government argued that Mr Kappan was paid to incite the riots and that he was not even an accredited journalist. “He was trying to create a riot and use explosives situation. He belongs to the PFI and it’s a terrorist organization,” said Mahesh Jethmalani, a lawyer for UP. , adding that he has incriminating documents.
The Supreme Court questioned the evidence against Mr. Kappan. “What was found with Kappan? No explosives were found, documents were not found with him but in the car and they were not used for propaganda,” Chief Justice Lalit said.
Mr. Kappan’s lawyer Kapil Sibal asked the prosecutor to read what was in the document.
“What documents are dangerous. Are there documents that show anything harmful?” asked the Chief Justice.
UP argued that it was a “toolkit,” a word used by many to describe a guide to stir up agitation or terror.
The judges said: “What you have shown literary means nothing.”
The UP government’s arguments in the Supreme Court mirror their 5,000-page charge filed in 2021.
During an earlier hearing, UP told the court that Mr Kappan was part of a larger plot to “incite religious discord and sow terror”.
Hathras’ case has drawn massive outrage and outcry over allegations that state authorities and police were involved in the cover-up.
The young woman died a few days after being gang raped. Later, UP police cremated her late at night in the absence of her family.
Recently, a video of Mr Kappan’s nine-year-old daughtertalk about “the liberties and rights of ordinary citizens” at a school function, went viral on social media.
“I firmly believe that my husband is innocent, and 705 days have been extremely painful for the family,” said Raihana Kappan, Kappan’s wife.
Mr. Kappan is also facing a money laundering case filed by the Law Enforcement Bureau. The Supreme Court said he could also apply for bail in that case.
