Allahabad HC grants bail to Siddique Kappan in PMLA case after two years of jail

After two years of jail, the Allahabad High Court on Friday granted bail to Siddique Kappan, a Kerala-based journalist in connection with a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The order paves the way for his release, three months after the Supreme Court (SC) granted him bail in all other cases registered against him on 9 September.

Today's bail order was passed by Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh while advocates Ishan Baghel and Mohammad Khalid appeared for Kappan.

Earlier this month, a Lucknow court had framed charges against Kappan and six others in the PMLA case, after ED had filed the prosecution complaint (equivalent to chargesheet) against the accused in February last year.

Kappan had moved the High Court after a Lucknow court denied him bail.

In October 2020, Kappan, a freelance reporter for Malayalam news portal Azhimukham, and secretary of the Delhi unit of the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police and charged under the anti-terror law, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), while he was on his way with three others to Hathras in the state following the death of a young Dalit woman who was allegedly gangraped.

The other accused are KA Rauf Sherif, Atikur Rahman, Masud Ahmad, Mohammad Alam, Abdul Razzak and Ashraf Khadir.

The police claimed that the accused were members of the banned organisation Popular Front of India (PFI) and its student wing — Campus Front of India (CFI).

They, however, denied any involvement in terror acts or financing, and argued that they were traveling to Hathras only for journalistic work.