Even a month after bail, Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan remains in jail due to red tape

Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan has not been released even a month after he got bail due to bureaucratic lapses. It was expected that he would get out of jail after all formalities from his side were fulfilled, but concerned district judge was not available today.

According to sources, Kappan cannot be released today since the District Judge of the Special Court on Prevention of Money Laundering was busy with a Bar Council election.

His lawyer Danish KS told Scroll.in on Monday that two sureties required for his release have been verified by a Lucknow court and the sureties have been asked to appear on Tuesday. The release order is expected to be issued on Tuesday evening, the lawyer said.

Siddique Kappan was asked to furnish two sureties of Rs 1 lakh each and a personal bond of the same amount when he was granted bail in the UAPA case.

The present case also has the same requirement, where Kappan must furnish two fresh local sureties of Rs 1 lakh each and a personal bond.

Kappan was arrested in October 2021 while he was on way to Hathras to report on an incident of gang-rape of a Dalit girl, which had triggered outrage across the country. He was first accused of trying to vitiate caste and communal atmosphere. The police then slapped sedition charges on him under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. In February 2021, the Enforcement Directorate filed a money laundering case against Kappan, accusing him of receiving money from the banned Popular Front of India.

The central agency had claimed that Kappan and three others had received money from the now-banned Popular Front of India to “incite riots”.

On September 9, the Supreme Court had granted bail to Kappan in the UAPA case, while on December 23, the Allahabad High Court gave him bail in the money laundering case too. However, for more than a month since then, Kappan continues to be in jail due to bureaucratic delays.