The Supreme Court would give bail to journalist Siddique Kappan, according to Chief Justice of India UU Lalit’s statement on Friday. In accordance with the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), the journalist from Kerala was detained in October 2020 as he travelled to Hathras in Uttar Pradesh, the scene of a Dalit woman’s suspected gang-rape death.
After being shown before the trial court in three days, the journalist will be freed. The highest court ordered Kappan to stay in Delhi for the ensuing six weeks and to sign in each week at the Nizamuddin neighbourhood police station.
The journalist will be permitted to travel to Mallapuram in Kerala after six weeks, where he must check in with the local police station once a week. The court stated that he has been barred from abusing his freedom by getting in touch with the witnesses and that he must deposit his passport before being released.
The UP government had earlier informed the top court that it was opposing Kappan’s release on bail and that he was a part of a bigger plot to “incite religious hatred and propagate terror” due to his close ties to the PFI.
The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court had already dismissed his bail application.