Allahabad High Court rejects bail plea of ​​journalist Siddique Kappan

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Published : Aug 5, 2022, 11:28 AM IST

Dalit girl gang rape case high court refuses to release journalist kappan on bail

The single bench in Allahabad High Court on Thursday rejected the bail plea of ​​journalist Siddique Kappan in a Dalit girl gang rape case.

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh): The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court has refused to grant bail to Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan, who was booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act in the Hathras conspiracy case. A single bench of Justice Krishan Pahal passed the rejection order on Thursday.

Prior to this, the bench had reserved its order on August 2 after the conclusion of arguments by the counsels of the accused and the state. A Mathura court had rejected Kappan's bail plea after which he had approached the High Court. Kappan, a reporter for Malayalam news portal Azhimukham and secretary of the Delhi unit of Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ), was arrested, along with three others in Uttar Pradesh in October 2020 while on his way to Hathras to report on the gang-rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit woman.

Senior advocate IB Singh, appearing for the accused, argued that he was going to Hathras on October 5, 2020, to fulfil his journalistic responsibility. The case registered against Siddique Kappan under UAPA is completely fake. The advocate said, "the accused has no connection with PFI. It was also argued that PFI is not even a banned organisation."

At the same time, opposing the bail, the public prosecutor argued that the accused is a resident of Kerala. He was going to Hathras with his comrades only to incite caste violence. The official said that all the disputed materials were recovered from the accused. It was also argued that the accused was involved in the hit squad of Ansad Badruddin.

Also Read: Dalit girl rape: HC seeks report on investigation from Delhi Police, SIT set up

Ansad Badruddin was arrested by the UP ATS for waging war against the country and under various sections, including the Explosive Act. After hearing the arguments of both sides, the court rejected the bail application. The police had claimed that the accused were trying to disturb the law and order in Hathras.

Kappan is alleged to have links with the extremist Islamist Organisation Popular Front of India (PFI). Kappan was arrested on October 5, 2020, along with three others, Masood Ahmed, Atikur Rehman and Mohammad Alam, when they were on their way to Hathras to meet the family of a Dalit girl. The woman died at a Delhi hospital a fortnight after her alleged rape by four men from her village on September 14, 2020.

She was cremated in the middle of the night in her village. Her family members claimed that the cremation, which took place well past midnight, was without their consent and that they were not allowed to bring home the body one last time. Kappan and others were charged under Sections 17 and 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Section 124A (sedition), Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion) and Section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) of Indian Penal Code and Sections 65, 72 and 75 of the Information Technology Act.

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