Sessions Court, Lucknow: In a case filed by the Enforcement Directorate against Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan, who was incarcerated under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and obtained bail in the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), Sessions Judge, Lucknow signed his release order to help him walk out free after more than 2 years.
On 05-10-2020, Siddiqui Kappan who is a journalist of Azhimukham, a Malayalam news website, and the secretary of the Kerala Union of Working Journalists’ Delhi chapter along with three other people were detained in Mathura on suspicion of plotting to cause trouble in Hathras, where a Dalit girl was allegedly gang-raped and killed.
ED charged him under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, respectively (PMLA) and was arrested in December 2020. The Supreme Court granted him bail in September 2022 except under PMLA and was later granted bail by the Allahabad High Court in December 2022 in the PMLA case as well.
Yesterday, a Lucknow Sessions Court approved his bail bonds and issued an order releasing him on bail from Lucknow jail.
[Sessions case no. 1004 of 2021, decided on 01-02-2023]
