News Analysis India

Tag: Siddique Kappan

  • UP court frames charges against journalist Kappan, six others in money laundering case

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: Charges have been framed against journalist Siddique Kappan and six others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) by a Lucknow court on Wednesday, paving way for the trial to proceed in the case. The court has fixed December 17 as the next date of the hearing.

    Besides Kappan, the other accused include KA Rauf Sherif, Atikur Rahman, Masud Ahmad, Mohammad Alam, Abdul Razzak and Ashraf Khadir. The Enforcement Directorate filed the prosecution complaint against all the accused in February last year.

    According to UP police, Kappan and the other accused are members of the banned organisation Popular Front of India (PFFI) and its student wing — Campus Front of India (CFI). It may be recalled that Kappan was arrested by the UP Police in October 2020 while he was on his way to Hathras along with three of his aides including Rahman, Ahmed and their car driver Alam, to cover the alleged gangrape and murder of a minor girl belonging to Scheduled Caste.

    ALSO READ | SC grants bail to journalist Siddique Kappan; asks him not to ‘misuse’ his liberty

    The police had charged the scribe and his aides under the anti-terror law, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). The other three accused including Sharief, Razzakh and Khadir were arrested during the investigation.

    The state police had also claimed that Kappan was moving to Hathras with the intent to disrupt peace in the area as part of a conspiracy. However, Kappan’s lawyers had claimed that he was going to report on the case involving a woman. After arresting the Kerala-based journalist, UP police also seized his smartphones and laptops.

    After getting his bail plea rejected by the courts in UP, Kappan moved Supreme Court of India which, on September 9, granted him bail in the UAPA case. However, Kappan was not released because of the Money Laundering case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against him. In October, a local Lucknow court rejected Kappan’s bail in a Money laundering case.

    LUCKNOW: Charges have been framed against journalist Siddique Kappan and six others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) by a Lucknow court on Wednesday, paving way for the trial to proceed in the case. The court has fixed December 17 as the next date of the hearing.

    Besides Kappan, the other accused include KA Rauf Sherif, Atikur Rahman, Masud Ahmad, Mohammad Alam, Abdul Razzak and Ashraf Khadir. The Enforcement Directorate filed the prosecution complaint against all the accused in February last year.

    According to UP police, Kappan and the other accused are members of the banned organisation Popular Front of India (PFFI) and its student wing — Campus Front of India (CFI). It may be recalled that Kappan was arrested by the UP Police in October 2020 while he was on his way to Hathras along with three of his aides including Rahman, Ahmed and their car driver Alam, to cover the alleged gangrape and murder of a minor girl belonging to Scheduled Caste.

    ALSO READ | SC grants bail to journalist Siddique Kappan; asks him not to ‘misuse’ his liberty

    The police had charged the scribe and his aides under the anti-terror law, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). The other three accused including Sharief, Razzakh and Khadir were arrested during the investigation.

    The state police had also claimed that Kappan was moving to Hathras with the intent to disrupt peace in the area as part of a conspiracy. However, Kappan’s lawyers had claimed that he was going to report on the case involving a woman. After arresting the Kerala-based journalist, UP police also seized his smartphones and laptops.

    After getting his bail plea rejected by the courts in UP, Kappan moved Supreme Court of India which, on September 9, granted him bail in the UAPA case. However, Kappan was not released because of the Money Laundering case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against him. In October, a local Lucknow court rejected Kappan’s bail in a Money laundering case.

  • Lucknow court denies bail to Siddique Kappan in case under PMLA

    By Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: The Lucknow Sessions court, on Monday, rejected the bail plea filed by Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan in connection with a case lodged against him under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

    District Judge Sanjay Shankar Pandey had reserved the order over the bail plea of the journalist after the conclusion of the hearing in the matter on October 12.

    Following the rejection of the bail plea, the journalist will now remain in jail despite being granted bail in another case related to Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA).

    Advocates Ishan Baghel and Mohammad Khalid had appeared on behalf of Kappan in the Lucknow Sessions court.

    The apex court had granted bail to Kappan in September 9, 2022.

    A reporter for Malayalam news portal Azhimukham and secretary of the Delhi unit of Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ), Kappan has been in UP police custody since October 6, 2020 in connection with a case lodged against him under Sections 17/18 UAPA, Sections 120B, 153A/295 A of IPC, 65/72 of IT Act for allegedly conspiring to incite caste riots and disrupting social harmony after Hathras gangrape and murder case. Kappan was taken into custody with three of his associates while on way to Hathras in 2020.

    The apex court had granted bail to the Kerala journalist, who has been in jail for over two years now, against the Allahabad High Court order which had denied him bail in the case lodged under UAPA.

    LUCKNOW: The Lucknow Sessions court, on Monday, rejected the bail plea filed by Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan in connection with a case lodged against him under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

    District Judge Sanjay Shankar Pandey had reserved the order over the bail plea of the journalist after the conclusion of the hearing in the matter on October 12.

    Following the rejection of the bail plea, the journalist will now remain in jail despite being granted bail in another case related to Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA).

    Advocates Ishan Baghel and Mohammad Khalid had appeared on behalf of Kappan in the Lucknow Sessions court.

    The apex court had granted bail to Kappan in September 9, 2022.

    A reporter for Malayalam news portal Azhimukham and secretary of the Delhi unit of Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ), Kappan has been in UP police custody since October 6, 2020 in connection with a case lodged against him under Sections 17/18 UAPA, Sections 120B, 153A/295 A of IPC, 65/72 of IT Act for allegedly conspiring to incite caste riots and disrupting social harmony after Hathras gangrape and murder case. Kappan was taken into custody with three of his associates while on way to Hathras in 2020.

    The apex court had granted bail to the Kerala journalist, who has been in jail for over two years now, against the Allahabad High Court order which had denied him bail in the case lodged under UAPA.

  • Hathras conspiracy case: Supreme Court agrees to hear journalist Siddique Kappan’s plea seeking bail

    By Express News Service

    The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to list for Friday a petition by Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan seeking bail in the “Hathras Conspiracy case”.

    The petition where Kappan has challenged Allahabad HC’s order dated August 2, 2022 of rejecting him bail was mentioned before the bench of CJI NV Ramana, Justices Hima Kohli and CT Ravikumar.

    In October 2020, Kappan along with other accused were arrested by UP Police while they were proceeding to report the Hathras rape-murder crime. Initially, they were arrested under an apprehension to cause breach of peace but subsequently they were booked under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act alleging that in the wake of the Hathras gang rape they were trying to incite communal riots and disrupt social harmony in the backdrop of the Hathras gangrape-murder case.

    It was also alleged in the FIR that the accused(s) were financed to go to Hathras by terrorist Gand in furtherance of a plan to spread disharmony in society and that the co-accused (s) collected funding from foreign nationals/mediums which were utilised by Kappan for in different mediums and by cash for illegal activities. It was also alleged that Kappan and the co-accused received large quantities totalling Rs 45,000 deposited by PFI in their account.

    Assailing the HC’s order, Kappan in the plea has contended that the HC has mechanically dismissed his bail without affording any cogent reasons.

    It has also been argued that the HC has failed to take note of the fact that FIR/charge-sheet ex facie does not make case for invocation of sections 17 (punishment for raising funds for the terrorist act) and 18 (punishment for conspiracy) of UAPA.

    “Apart from a bald statement to the effect that a perusal of the charge sheet and documents adduced indicate that the offences have been committed, absolutely no reasons have been afforded to indicate as to how this conclusion has been arrived at,” plea states.

    The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to list for Friday a petition by Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan seeking bail in the “Hathras Conspiracy case”.

    The petition where Kappan has challenged Allahabad HC’s order dated August 2, 2022 of rejecting him bail was mentioned before the bench of CJI NV Ramana, Justices Hima Kohli and CT Ravikumar.

    In October 2020, Kappan along with other accused were arrested by UP Police while they were proceeding to report the Hathras rape-murder crime. Initially, they were arrested under an apprehension to cause breach of peace but subsequently they were booked under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act alleging that in the wake of the Hathras gang rape they were trying to incite communal riots and disrupt social harmony in the backdrop of the Hathras gangrape-murder case.

    It was also alleged in the FIR that the accused(s) were financed to go to Hathras by terrorist Gand in furtherance of a plan to spread disharmony in society and that the co-accused (s) collected funding from foreign nationals/mediums which were utilised by Kappan for in different mediums and by cash for illegal activities. It was also alleged that Kappan and the co-accused received large quantities totalling Rs 45,000 deposited by PFI in their account.

    Assailing the HC’s order, Kappan in the plea has contended that the HC has mechanically dismissed his bail without affording any cogent reasons.

    It has also been argued that the HC has failed to take note of the fact that FIR/charge-sheet ex facie does not make case for invocation of sections 17 (punishment for raising funds for the terrorist act) and 18 (punishment for conspiracy) of UAPA.

    “Apart from a bald statement to the effect that a perusal of the charge sheet and documents adduced indicate that the offences have been committed, absolutely no reasons have been afforded to indicate as to how this conclusion has been arrived at,” plea states.

  • As Kappan’s wife readies to move SC for his bail, daughter in her I-day speech calls for citizens’ freedom 

    By Online Desk

    CHENNAI: As India celebrated its 76th Independence Day, the wife of journalist Siddique Kappan  — booked and jailed under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in the Hathras conspiracy case –said that she is running around doing procedural works to move Supreme Court for her husband’s bail, while Kappan’s nine-year-old daughter said that ordinary citizens’ freedom is not taken away.

    “When her school authorities asked her to deliver a speech in view of Independence Day, she asked Independence for whom?” Siddique Kappan’s wife Raihanath told TNIE.

    “I am the daughter of a journalist who has been left to languish in jail, by being denied the basic civil rights available to all Indian citizens,” is how the nine-year-old began her Independence day speech at her school on Monday, a video of which has gone viral on social media.

    According to a PTI report, in her little over two-minute-long speech, she said that every Indian has the right to resist or oppose those asking them to leave, they have the choice to decide what to speak, eat or which religion to profess and all this is possible due to the struggles and sacrifices of freedom fighters like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Bhagat Singh, and countless others.

    “Remembering all those freedom fighters, my request is not to take away the freedom and rights of the ordinary citizens,” she said.

    She also said that India’s pride should not be surrendered before anyone.

    In her speech, she further said that there was still unrest in the country as it was evident from the violence on the basis of religion, color or politics and said that the same should be “rooted out with love and unity”.

    “Even the shadow of any unrest should be wiped out. We all should live as one and should make every effort to take India to the top. We should dream of a better tomorrow without any differences and conflicts,” she said.

    “As India steps into its 76th Independence day, on this special occasion, as an Indian with unwavering pride and authority, I would like to say ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’,” she said.

    Meanwhile, Raihanath noted that after the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court dismissed her husband’s bail application she is presently engaged in procedural works to move the Supreme Court. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal has agreed to appear for Kappan, she added.

    While rejecting Kappan’s bail plea, the court held that  “the use of tainted money cannot be ruled out”.

    Prior to that, a Mathura court had rejected Kappan’s bail plea after which he had approached the high court.

    ALSO READ | Siddique Kappan’s incarceration: His wife and children feel helpless, yet keep their hopes alive

    The Uttar Pradesh police arrested Kappan, a reporter for a Malayalam news portal Azhimukham and secretary of the Delhi unit of the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) and three others accompanying him on October 5, 2020, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and The Information Technology Act while they were on way to Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district where a Dalit woman was allegedly gang-raped on September 14, 2020. Police had claimed that the accused were trying to disturb law and order in Hathras. They had also alleged that the accused had links with the Popular Front of India (PFI).

    The rape victim had died at a Delhi hospital a fortnight after her alleged rape by four men from her village on September 14, 2020.

    She was cremated in the middle of the night in her village.

    Her family members claimed that the cremation, which took place well past midnight, was without her consent and that they were not allowed to bring home the body one last time.

    (With inputs from PTI).

    CHENNAI: As India celebrated its 76th Independence Day, the wife of journalist Siddique Kappan  — booked and jailed under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in the Hathras conspiracy case –said that she is running around doing procedural works to move Supreme Court for her husband’s bail, while Kappan’s nine-year-old daughter said that ordinary citizens’ freedom is not taken away.

    “When her school authorities asked her to deliver a speech in view of Independence Day, she asked Independence for whom?” Siddique Kappan’s wife Raihanath told TNIE.

    “I am the daughter of a journalist who has been left to languish in jail, by being denied the basic civil rights available to all Indian citizens,” is how the nine-year-old began her Independence day speech at her school on Monday, a video of which has gone viral on social media.

    According to a PTI report, in her little over two-minute-long speech, she said that every Indian has the right to resist or oppose those asking them to leave, they have the choice to decide what to speak, eat or which religion to profess and all this is possible due to the struggles and sacrifices of freedom fighters like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Bhagat Singh, and countless others.

    “Remembering all those freedom fighters, my request is not to take away the freedom and rights of the ordinary citizens,” she said.

    She also said that India’s pride should not be surrendered before anyone.

    In her speech, she further said that there was still unrest in the country as it was evident from the violence on the basis of religion, color or politics and said that the same should be “rooted out with love and unity”.

    “Even the shadow of any unrest should be wiped out. We all should live as one and should make every effort to take India to the top. We should dream of a better tomorrow without any differences and conflicts,” she said.

    “As India steps into its 76th Independence day, on this special occasion, as an Indian with unwavering pride and authority, I would like to say ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’,” she said.

    Meanwhile, Raihanath noted that after the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court dismissed her husband’s bail application she is presently engaged in procedural works to move the Supreme Court. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal has agreed to appear for Kappan, she added.

    While rejecting Kappan’s bail plea, the court held that  “the use of tainted money cannot be ruled out”.

    Prior to that, a Mathura court had rejected Kappan’s bail plea after which he had approached the high court.

    ALSO READ | Siddique Kappan’s incarceration: His wife and children feel helpless, yet keep their hopes alive

    The Uttar Pradesh police arrested Kappan, a reporter for a Malayalam news portal Azhimukham and secretary of the Delhi unit of the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) and three others accompanying him on October 5, 2020, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and The Information Technology Act while they were on way to Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district where a Dalit woman was allegedly gang-raped on September 14, 2020. Police had claimed that the accused were trying to disturb law and order in Hathras. They had also alleged that the accused had links with the Popular Front of India (PFI).

    The rape victim had died at a Delhi hospital a fortnight after her alleged rape by four men from her village on September 14, 2020.

    She was cremated in the middle of the night in her village.

    Her family members claimed that the cremation, which took place well past midnight, was without her consent and that they were not allowed to bring home the body one last time.

    (With inputs from PTI).

  • Journalist Siddique Kappan denied bail by Allahabad High Court in UAPA case

    By Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: The Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court on Thursday rejected the bail plea of Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan, who was arrested along with three others in October 2020 while on his way to Hathras after the alleged gang-rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit girl. Kappan and his associates were booked under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

    The bail plea of the journalist was rejected by the single judge bench comprising Justice Krishan Pahal who had reserved the order after the arguments were concluded by accused and state counsels on August 2.

    A Mathura court had rejected Kappan’s bail plea after which he had approached the High Court.

    Justice Pahal attributed the rejection of bail plea to a prima facie case being established by the prosecution. The judge said travelling with co-accused who did not belong to the media fraternity as well as tainted money being used by him and his accomplices were crucial circumstances going against him.

    “The tainted money being used by the applicant and his colleagues cannot be ruled out,” said the single-judge. The Court also rejected Kappan’s claim that he was visiting Hathras to fulfil his journalistic duty by saying that it was nullified by the claims made by the prosecution in the charge sheet.

    ALSO READ | India tops list of nations seeking blocking tweets by journalists, news companies: Twitter report

    The prosecution’s allegations were that Kappan and the co-accused were travelling to Hathras with an intention to disturb harmony in the area. It was stated that they were collecting funds to run a website full of misinformation and to incite violence.

    They were charged under Sections 17 and 18 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and Section 124A (sedition), Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion) and Section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code, along with Sections 65, 72 and 75 of the Information Technology Act.

    However, Kappan’s counsel denied all allegations, stating that he was going to Hathras to discharge his duty as a professional journalist, when he was illegally detained by the UP Police in violation of his fundamental rights.

    Additionally, it was stated that Kappan never used any platform to spread disharmony or further class or communal conflict. On the contrary, the prosecution argued that Kappan, a resident of Kerala, had nothing to do with Hathras incident and was there with mala fide intent. It was also submitted by the prosecution that Kappan had conducted a secret workshop with an aim to incite riots across the country by raking up issues of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the Babri Masjid demolition.

    While rejecting the bail plea, the Court said that owing to the nature of the offence, the evidence on record, and considering the complicity of the accused and the severity of the punishment, the Court found Kappan’s bail application to be devoid of merit, and dismissed it.

    LUCKNOW: The Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court on Thursday rejected the bail plea of Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan, who was arrested along with three others in October 2020 while on his way to Hathras after the alleged gang-rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit girl. Kappan and his associates were booked under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

    The bail plea of the journalist was rejected by the single judge bench comprising Justice Krishan Pahal who had reserved the order after the arguments were concluded by accused and state counsels on August 2.

    A Mathura court had rejected Kappan’s bail plea after which he had approached the High Court.

    Justice Pahal attributed the rejection of bail plea to a prima facie case being established by the prosecution. The judge said travelling with co-accused who did not belong to the media fraternity as well as tainted money being used by him and his accomplices were crucial circumstances going against him.

    “The tainted money being used by the applicant and his colleagues cannot be ruled out,” said the single-judge. The Court also rejected Kappan’s claim that he was visiting Hathras to fulfil his journalistic duty by saying that it was nullified by the claims made by the prosecution in the charge sheet.

    ALSO READ | India tops list of nations seeking blocking tweets by journalists, news companies: Twitter report

    The prosecution’s allegations were that Kappan and the co-accused were travelling to Hathras with an intention to disturb harmony in the area. It was stated that they were collecting funds to run a website full of misinformation and to incite violence.

    They were charged under Sections 17 and 18 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and Section 124A (sedition), Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion) and Section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code, along with Sections 65, 72 and 75 of the Information Technology Act.

    However, Kappan’s counsel denied all allegations, stating that he was going to Hathras to discharge his duty as a professional journalist, when he was illegally detained by the UP Police in violation of his fundamental rights.

    Additionally, it was stated that Kappan never used any platform to spread disharmony or further class or communal conflict. On the contrary, the prosecution argued that Kappan, a resident of Kerala, had nothing to do with Hathras incident and was there with mala fide intent. It was also submitted by the prosecution that Kappan had conducted a secret workshop with an aim to incite riots across the country by raking up issues of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the Babri Masjid demolition.

    While rejecting the bail plea, the Court said that owing to the nature of the offence, the evidence on record, and considering the complicity of the accused and the severity of the punishment, the Court found Kappan’s bail application to be devoid of merit, and dismissed it.

  • Kerala scribes shocked over inclusion of Siddique Kappan’s news stories in UP STF’s charge sheet

    By PTI

    KOCCHI: The Kerala union of working journalists (KUWJ) on Friday expressed shock over the Uttar Pradesh police charge sheet against journalist Siddique Kappan, in which the reports and interviews done by the Delhi-based scribe have also been allegedly included.

    KUWJ said the action of the UP police was nothing but treating “journalism as a crime”.

    According to news reports, the 5,000 page charge sheet, filed by the UP Special Task Force (STF), lists the news items and articles by Kappan.

    “This goes against the very spirit of freedom of expression guaranteed under the constitution. We appeal to the Honorable Supreme Court of India to intervene in the matter and quash the shameful act of the UP police,” the KUWJ said in a statement.

    The journalists body said the police in UP was acting against the freedom of expression and fundamental rights of the individual citizen.

    “The KUWJ is also anguished to learn that the copy of the charge sheet has not been given to Siddique Kappan even though we are on the brink of completing one year of his arrest and subsequent incarceration in the jail,” the statement read.

    KUWJ also pointed out that Kappan has volunteered to undergo narco analysis and other tests as part of his struggle to prove his innocence in the cases slapped against him.

    “The KUWJ as an organization of professional journalists committed to protect the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression would reiterate its support for Mr Kappan and his struggle against the false charges made by the UP police,” it said.

    Delhi-based Kerala journalist Kappan and three others were arrested by Mathura police on October 5 last year, while they were on their way to a village in Hathras to meet the family members of a Dalit girl who had died in a Delhi hospital while undergoing treatment after being gang raped in her village.

    The four were arrested earlier on the apprehension of causing a breach of peace but were later slapped with stern charges of sedition and being involved in various terror offences.

  • Court junks STF’s plea to interrogate Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan again

    By PTI

    MATHURA: A Mathura court has dismissed the UP STF’s plea to interrogate alleged PFI activist-cum-Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan, facing terror charges, about some incriminating document found in his Delhi residence.

    Additional District and Sessions Judge Anil Kumar Pandey rejected the Special Task Force plea, saying that the accused cannot be allowed to be interrogated again after the chargesheet in the case has already been filed.

    Kappan is presently lodged in judicial custody in a terror case, involving instigating unrest and funding it after the death of a Hathras woman, set ablaze after her rape and brutalisation.

    “The prosecution’s request at a stage when the charge-sheet has already been submitted in the court cannot be accepted and merits rejection,” ADSJ Pandey said in his order on Monday.

    In its plea to the court, the STF had said Kappan’s Delhi residence was raided on November 11 last year, during which a booklet of the outlawed terror outfit SIMMI with some handwritten remarks on its was found.

    The booklet had been sent to the Agra forensic laboratory for matching Kappan’s handwriting to that on the book but the laboratory in its report on June 21 this year has said the two handwritings did not match, the STF’s plea said Accordingly, the accused needed to be interrogated about the booklet and the handwritten remarks on it, it said.

    Defence counsel Madhuban Datt Chaturvedi said the STF had sought to interrogate Kappan on an issue forming part of a previously conducted and concluded probe.

    It was not about any matter for further or additional investigation, he said.

    After filing the charge-sheet in the court, the investigation on any point conducted earlier, cannot be allowed under section 173 (8) of the Criminal Procedure Code, he said.

  • Centre in process of banning Popular Front of India, SC told

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Centre is in the process of banning Popular Front of India (PFI), an Islamic organisation which has been banned in several states, the Supreme Court was told on Wednesday.

    A bench of Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices Surya Kant and A S Bopanna was told by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Uttar Pradesh government, that Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan has association with PFI, whose office bearers were found to be associated with banned Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).

    The bench asked Mehta whether PFI has been banned.

    Mehta replied, “In several states PFI has been banned. As per my information Centre is also in the process of banning it.” The bench then said, “So, as of now it is not banned”.

    Mehta, while reading from an affidavit filed in December last year, said, “No. Many officer bearers of PFI were found to be associated with SIMI”.

    The top court later directed the UP government to shift Kappan, suffering from various ailments and arrested last year on way to Hathras where a young Dalit woman had died after being gang raped, to a hospital in Delhi for better medical treatment.

    Keeping in mind the basic human rights of an accused, the bench granted the relief and directed the state to provide medical treatment to the scribe.

    It said that Kappan will be transferred back to Mathura jail after his recovery.

    The top court, however, granted him liberty to approach an appropriate forum challenging his arrest or for any other relief and disposed of the plea filed by Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) and his wife, seeking his release from alleged illegal detention.

    The FIR has been filed under various provisions of the IPC and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against four people having alleged links with the PFI.

    The police had said it arrested four people having links with the PFI in Mathura — Siddique from Malappuram, Atiq-ur Rehman from Muzaffarnagar, Masood Ahmed from Bahraich and Alam from Rampur.

    Kappan was arrested on way to Hathras, which has been in the news following the death of a 19-year-old Dalit woman who was allegedly gang-raped on September 14, 2020, in a village in the district.

  • Supreme Court asks Uttar Pradesh government to submit medical records of journalist Siddique Kappan

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Tuesday asked the Uttar Pradesh government to submit medical records of journalist Siddique Kappan who was arrested last year on way to Hathras where a young Dalit woman had died after being allegedly gang-raped.

    Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) alleged that Kappan has been chained to a cot in the hospital he was admitted to after falling in the bathroom and later testing positive for COVID-19.

    The UP government refuted the allegations that Kappan has been chained to a cot at the hospital and said it would file a short reply on his medical records by tomorrow.

    A bench of Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices Surya Kant and A S Bopanna asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the state government, to file the medical records by Wednesday.

    At the outset, Mehta said he had preliminary objection to the habeas corpus petition filed by KUWJ as Kappan has been in judicial custody under the judicial order.

    He said the habeas corpus petition was not maintainable in the case where an accused is under judicial custody.

    Advocate Wills Mathew, appearing for KUWJ, said that on April 20 he fell in the bathroom and on April 21 he was tested positive for COVID-19.

    He added that besides the reliefs being sought, Kappan should also be allowed to talk to his mother via video conference.

    The bench, which was facing difficulty in hearing the arguments due to connectivity issue, adjourned the matter for Wednesday.

    “When we are adjourning the matter for detailed hearing for tomorrow, why are you making arguments now,” the bench told Mathew.

    It asked Mehta to file medical records of Kappan by Wednesday to which the solicitor general agreed.

    Kappan’s wife recently wrote to CJI Ramana seeking his immediate release from the hospital, alleging he is “chained like an animal in a cot” there.

    Raihanth Kappan claimed in the letter written to the CJI that Kappan received injuries on April 20 after falling in the jail bathroom and was reported COVID-19 positive a day later.

    She said he was shifted to K M Medical College, Mathura, on April 21, where he is presently “chained like an animal in a cot of the hospital, without mobility, and he neither could take food, nor could go to toilet for the last more than 4 days, and is very critical.”

    On November 16 last year, the top court had sought a response from the Uttar Pradesh government on the plea challenging the arrest of the journalist.

    The FIR has been filed under various provisions of the IPC and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against four people having alleged links with the Popular Front of India, or PFI.

    PFI had been accused in the past of funding protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act across the country earlier this year.

    The KUWJ had filed a habeas corpus petition in the top court against his arrest and immediate release from “illegal detention”.

    The police had said it arrested four people having links with the PFI in Mathura — Siddique from Malappuram, Atiq-ur Rehman from Muzaffarnagar, Masood Ahmed from Bahraich and Alam from Rampur.

    The plea stated that the arrest was made in violation of the mandatory guidelines laid down by the apex court and with the sole intention of obstructing the discharge of duty by a journalist.

    Kappan was arrested on way to Hathras, which has been in the news following the death of a 19-year-old Dalit woman who was allegedly gang-raped on September 14, 2020, in a village in the district.

    Her cremation at night by the authorities, allegedly without the parents” consent, has triggered widespread outrage.

  • ‘Shocking, inhuman’: Editors Guild demands proper medical care, dignified treatment of scribe Siddique Kappan

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Editors Guild of India on Monday said it is deeply disturbed by reports of “inhuman treatment” being meted out to Siddique Kappan, a journalist from Kerala who was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police while on his way to Hathras, and demanded that he be given proper medical care as well as be treated with dignity.

    In a statement, the Guild also urged the Supreme Court to urgently take up the pending writ petition on Kappan’s arrest and give him a fair trial.

    The Guild said it is deeply disturbed by reports of “inhuman treatment being meted out to the journalist Siddique Kappan, who has been in custody since October 2020, under the draconian UAPA, for trying to report on the rape and death of a Dalit girl in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh”.

    His wife has alleged that her husband has been tied to a bed and is neither able to take food nor access toilet, while undergoing treatment at a Mathura hospital for Covid-19, the Guild said.

    “This is shocking and should stir the conscience of the nation that a journalist is being treated in this cruel manner and being denied basic rights,” it said.

    ALSO READ | IUML’s MK Muneer writes to national human rights panel to seek COVID treatment facilities for Kappan

    The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister has been ignoring the demands from his family and the civil society for fair treatment of the journalist, the Guild alleged.

    “It is further shocking that the Supreme Court of India has yet not intervened in this case to ensure a fair trial of the journalist, even though the Habeas Corpus petition challenging his arrest has been pending before the court for the past six months,” it said.

    The Guild recalled that it had written a letter to the Chief Minister of UP in November 2020, highlighting several instances of state persecution and violence against journalists, including Kappan.

    The Guild demands that Kappan be given proper medical treatment at the earliest and that he be treated with dignity, the statement said.

    The wife of Siddique Kappan has written to Chief Justice of India N V Ramana seeking his immediate release from a hospital, alleging he is “chained like an animal in a cot” there.

    Kappan, arrested on October 5 last year while on the way to Hathras which was home to a young Dalit woman who died after being gang-raped allegedly by four upper-caste men, is currently lodged in Medical College Hospital, Mathura, after he was found positive for COVID-19 on April 21.