Rehan Khan
On 4th November, the Supreme Court of India eased a stringent bail condition for Kerala-based journalist Siddique Kappan. The previous condition, imposed in 2022, required Kappan to appear at a local police station in Uttar Pradesh every Monday in connection with the Hathras conspiracy case. This mandate was lifted by a Division Bench comprising Justices P.S. Narasimha and Sandeep Mehta, following Kappan’s application seeking a reprieve from the weekly reporting obligation.
The original bail order, issued on September 9, 2022, came after nearly two years of incarceration for Kappan. The court had then stipulated that he report to the police every Monday for the first six weeks following his release, with the condition extending to his home state of Kerala after that period. Additional restrictions were placed on him, such as depositing his passport and not leaving Delhi without the trial court’s permission.
Kappan was arrested in October 2020, along with three others, while en route to Hathras to report on a brutal gang rape and murder incident that had sparked public outrage. Initially detained on charges of intending to disrupt peace, he was later accused under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for allegedly planning to incite communal unrest.
This recent order provides significant relief to Kappan, although the other bail conditions remain intact. The court stated that Kappan may pursue other requests independently in the future as per legal procedure.
Case Title: Siddique Kappan v. State of Uttar Pradesh
Case Number: MA 1929/2024 in Crl.A. No. 1534/2022
Bench: Justices P.S. Narasimha and Sandeep Mehta