Ashish Ranjan
Siddique Kappan, a journalist from Kerala, walked out of the Lucknow district jail on Thursday morning, more than 27 months after his arrest on charges related to the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
After being released from jail in Lucknow, Mr. Kappan spoke to The Hindu in an exclusive interview outside the jail and asserted his innocence.”I have full faith in the judicial process, the truth will come out, I am completely innocent, and I am ecstatic to be free after 28 months in prison,” said the journalist whose prolonged detention drew international attention and is frequently cited as an indicator of India’s deteriorating press freedom. Mr. Kappan described the UAPA as a political instrument.
Siddique Kappan, age 43, was apprehended by U.P. police as he travelled to Hathras, where a Dalit woman allegedly died after being raped. The State police stopped the journalist’s vehicle at a Mathura toll plaza and arrested him along with three others.
The First Information Report (FIR) charged him with violating Sections 124A (sedition), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on religious grounds, etc.), and 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Subsequently, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) charged Mr. Kappan with violating the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
I am glad that eventually Article 21 of the Constitution has triumphed and
Siddique Kappan, the journalist from Kerala, is freeTrial Court judges must push back on the demand for judicial custody which is really pre-trial incarceration
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) February 2, 2023
Mr. Kappan was accused by the U.P. Government of participating in a plot to incite religious conflict and defame the State Government over the Hathras case. The journalist was also accused of having ties to the now-prohibited Popular Front of India (PFI).The Supreme Court granted Mr. Kappan bail in the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) case on September 9 of last year, stating that “every citizen has the right to free expression” and noting that the journalist was eligible for bail due to the length of his detention and the peculiar circumstances of the case.
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After the Supreme Court’s ruling in the UAPA case, the verification of bail sureties in Uttar Pradesh took more than three months to complete. While granting Mr. Kappan bail, the Supreme Court stated that the Lucknow court hearing the UAPA case can determine the bail conditions. In the PMLA case, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court granted him bail on December 23. Mr. Kappan is originally from Malappuram in Kerala, where he served as a reporter for the Malayalam news website Azhimukham and as secretary for the Kerala Union of Working Journalists’ Delhi Unit (KUWJ).
