New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday (November 4) relaxed a bail condition of Kerala-based journalist Siddique Kappan requiring him to report to police every week in a case registered against him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
A bench comprising Justice PS Narasimhan and Justice Sandeep Mehta relaxed the bail condition imposed by the apex court on Kappan while granting him bail in September 2022 with several conditions.
The order dated September 9, 2022 is modified: Apex court
“The order dated September 9, 2022, is modified and it shall not be necessary for the petitioner (Kappan) to report to the local police station. The other prayers made in the present application can be agitated independently,” the top court bench said.
FIR was registered against Kappan, three others under IPC, UAPA
A First Information Report (FIR) was registered against Kappan and three others under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for allegedly having links with the Popular Front of India (PFI). The prosecution claimed that Kappan and others were travelling to Hathras with an intention to disturb harmony in the area and they were collecting funds to run a website full of misinformation and to incite violence.
Kappan was arrested with three others in October 2020 while on his way to Hathras, Uttar Pradesh
Kappan was arrested in the case in October 2020 along with three others in October 2020 in Uttar Pradesh while on his way to Hathras to report on the gang-rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit girl. The apex court granted him bail in September 2022 with several conditions, which included that he would have to remain in the national capital for the next six weeks after his release from prison and report to the Nizamuddin police station on Monday every week. The top court had further said that Kappan may travel to his native place Malappuram in Kerala after six months and he will have to report to the local police station every Monday and mark his presence.
