Supreme Court seeks UP’s reply on scribe’s bail plea

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh government on a bail plea by  Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan who was arrested while he along with others was going to Hathras to report on the gang-rape and murder of 19 year old Dalit girl.

The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh government on a bail plea by  Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan who was arrested while he along with others was going to Hathras to report on the gang-rape and murder of 19-year-old Dalit girl.

Kappan has been booked under the  Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and other charges in the alleged Hathras conspiracy case.

A bench of Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit and Justice S. Ravindra Bhat asked the Uttar Pradesh government to respond to Kappan’s bail plea by September 5 and posted the matter for hearing on September 9.

Kappan who is in incarceration for nearly two years has approached the top court against August 2, 2022, order of the High Court rejecting his bail plea.

Appearing for Kappan, senior advocate Kapil Sibal told the court that Kappan is a journalist and he was going to Hathras to cover the case.

Kappan in his plea has said that the “seminal questions pertaining to the right to liberty, as well as the freedom of expression and speech vested in independent media under the aegis of the Constitution.”

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on August 2, while rejecting bail plea of Kappan had said, “The use tainted money cannot be ruled out”.
The plea before the top court has said that the High Court has “grossly overlooked the well-established principles regarding the grant of bail, and without affording any cogent reasons, has mechanically dismissed Kappan’s bail application”.

The High Court has not taken into account the fact that Kappan is an established journalist with over 12 years’ experience, and that he is a member of both the Press Club of India  and the Kerala Union of Working Journalists, said the appeal, adding that both outfits have issued certificates authenticating Kappan’s credentials as a journalist.