Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan gets bail in PMLA case, to walk free from UP jail after 26 months

Lucknow: Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan, arrested under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act(UAPA) in Hathras conspiracy case got bail on Friday in a money laundering case from the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court. Kappan, along with others was arrested on terror charges on October 5, 2020 by the Uttar Pradesh Police while traveling to Hathras after a Dalit woman's rape and murder. After the bail from HC, Kappan will be out of UP jail after spending 26 months. A Lucknow court earlier this month framed charges against Kappan and six others in Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Kappan had already got the bail in terror case filed under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) from the Supreme Court on September 7 earlier this year. 

The top court then directed Kappan to remain in Delhi for six weeks and thereafter he can shift to Kerala. But the journalist remained in jail in a separate case of money laundering filed by the Enforcement Directorate(ED) in 2021.

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A bench headed by Chief Justice U.U. Lalit observed that every person has a right to freedom of expression. The bench said, "Every person has a right to free expression...he is trying to show that the victim needs justice... Will this be a crime in the eyes of law?" Senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, representing the UP government, said on October 5, they had decided to go to Hathras to incite riots.

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court had rejected Kappan`s plea for bail. He moved the top court challenging the high court order.