Journalist Siddique Kappan gets bail in money laundering case

Siddique Kappan, who was arrested two years ago, is lodged in the Lucknow district jail.

Lucknow, Dec 24: Kerala-based journalist Siddique Kappan was granted bail by the Allahabad High Court in a money laundering case on Friday.

Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh of the Lucknow Bench of the high court passed the order. Currently, he is lodged in the Lucknow district jail.

The Supreme Court granted bail to the journalist on September 9 after he was arrested under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Chief Justice UU Lalit, Justice S Ravindra Bhat, and Justice PS Narasimha had directed that the petitioner would be released on bail in the next three days after applying in the trial court.

The court had also taken note of the submissions of the Uttar Pradesh government while laying down several conditions for bail, including that he will have to remain in Delhi for the next six weeks after release from the prison and report to Nizamuddin police station in the national capital on Monday every week.

He was arrested two years back while he was on his way to Hathras in Uttar Pradesh, where a Dalit woman had died after allegedly being raped.He was booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Information Technology (IT) Act.

Kappan along with three others - Athikur Rehman, Alam and Masood - was arrested by the police in Mathura for allegedly having links with the Popular Front of India and being a part of conspiracy to instigate violence. While ordering his release, Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Anurodh Mishra had directed Kappan to furnish two sureties of Rs 1 lakh each and a personal bond of the same amount, PTI reported.

On November 1, a local court in Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow had denied bail to the Kerala-based journalist in the case lodged by the Directorate of Enforcement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

With input from agencies