- Monday, March 10, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
Siddique Kappan, a journalist from the southern state of Kerala who was jailed in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh for almost two years, was granted bail on Friday (9) by the Supreme Court, which said “every person has a freedom of expression”. A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) UU Lalit and Justices S Ravindra Bhat and PS Narasimha asked, “Every person has a right to free expression. He is trying to show that (Hathras) victim needs justice and raise a common voice. Will this be a crime in eyes of law?”
Kappan was arrested in October 2020 along with three others while he was on his way to Hathras in Uttar Pradesh where he was reportedly going to report on the gang-rape and murder of a teen Dalit girl. He was charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
Kappan is a reporter for Malayalam news portal ‘Azhimukham’ and secretary of the Delhi chapter of Kerala Union of Working Journalists. The prosecution’s case is that the man and the co-accused were heading to Hathras with an intention to disrupt local harmony and that they were gathering funds to run a website of misinformation to incite violence, Bar and Bench reported.
The Uttar Pradesh government said in its affidavit that Kappan is closely related to extremist organisation Popular Front of India (PFI) which has anti-national agenda and that he was part of a larger conspiracy with the co-accused to incite religious discord and spread terror in India.
Senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, who appeared for the state of Uttar Pradesh, alleged that there was a propaganda surrounding the Hathras incident and that Kappan was part of a conspiracy by PFI to incite riots.
“Kappan was in meeting of Popular Front of India (PFI) in Sep 2020. It was said in the meeting that funding had stopped. It was decided in the meeting that they will go to sensitive areas and incite riots. Even co accused had given statement. One of the members of high ranking PFI official and he revealed the conspiracy,” he said.
“But statement of co-accused cannot go against him,” CJI Lalit said.
The Bench turned down Jethmalani’s stand that the accused were going to Hathras to create unrest.
“They were going to distribute this literature among the Dalit population.The whole propaganda was justice for Hathras victim.. then the agenda was resign prime minister and then sent emails directions… this was a directive..,” Jethmalani said.
“There were protests at India Gate in 2011 also for Nirbhaya. Sometimes protests are needed to bring a change. You know after that there was change in laws. These are protests Mr Jethmalani,” Justice Bhat said, the Bar and Bench report added.
When Jethmalani continued saying that Kappan had gone to Hathras to incite riots, CJI Lalit asked which of the material relied upon by the prosecution proved his claim.
“Please show the document to show that he was involved in the riots,” CJI Lalit said.
“They were instructions on what to wear, what not to wear and how essential supplies will be stored and know where to take shelter in place where you are riots,” Jethmalani said.
“Which language was it to be distributed in? This appears to be taken from a foreign country,” the CJI remarked.
The apex court then proceeded to grant bail to Kappan.
He was directed to stay in Delhi for six week and report to the police station in Jangpura, the report added.
After six weeks, he will be free to go back to Kerala and mark his attendance at a local police station on Monday every week, the top court said.
