Clarion India

NEW DELHI – The Allahabad High Court reserved its verdict on Tuesday on the bail plea of Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan.

Arguments concluded before Justice Krishna Pahal of the Lucknow bench of the high court today. Senior advocate I.B. Singh, assisted by Ishan Baghel, argued on behalf of Kappan.

Kappan has been languishing in an Uttar Pradesh jail under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act since October 5, 2020 because he went to report the gang rape of Dalit girl in Hathras.

Kappan, who wrote for Malayalam publications, was arrested along with three others while travelling to Hathras to cover the gang rape and murder of a Dalit girl. They were travelling in a car when the UP police stopped them at the Hathras toll plaza.

Kappan’s prolonged trial received global condemnation. The Kerala Union of Working Journalists, which has advocated for Kappan, has repeatedly alleged that the journalist has been jailed under inhuman conditions.

In July last year, the journalist filed a bail plea which was rejected by a sessions court in Mathura. On February 21, 2022, Kappan filed another bail plea in the Allahabad High Court.

Kappan was also diagnosed with COVID-19. Seeing his deteriorating health, the Supreme Court directed the Uttar Pradesh government to provide better medical treatment.