By our legal correspondent
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Nov 04 relaxed the bail condition imposed on journalist Siddique Kappan in an Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) case . Passing the order the Bench of Justices P S Narasimhan and Sandeep Metha said that he does not have to report to a police station in Uttar Pradesh every week and they relaxed the condition imposed by the top court on Kappan at the time of granting him bail in September 2022.
“The order dated Sept 09, 2022, is modified and it shall not be necessary for the petitioner to report to the local police station. The other prayers made in the present application can be agitated independently” the Bench said.
Kappan was arrested in October 2020, while on his way to Hathras in UP, where a Dalit woman had died after allegedly being sexually assaulted by a group of men.
The top court granted him bail after he had spent almost two years in prison. It had observed that every person had the right to free expression. While granting bail to Kappan , the court had directed him to report to the police station concerned every week.
Kappan was saddled with several bail conditions, including the one directing him to remain in Delhi for six weeks following his release from prison and reporting to the Nizamuddin police station every Monday.
The court had, however, allowed him to travel to his home at Malappuram after six months, maintaining that he would have to report to the local police and mark his presence every Monday.
Kappan was directed not to leave Delhi’s jurisdiction without the permission of the court besides being ordered to attend the trial court every day either personally or through his lawyer. “The appellant shall deposit his passport with the investigative machinery,” the top court said.
The case was registered against Kappan and three others under various provisions of the Indian Penal code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for allegedly having links with the Popular Front of India (PFI) a banned organization.
