LUCKNOW: The Lucknow Sessions court, on Monday, rejected the bail plea filed by Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan in connection with a case lodged against him under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
District Judge Sanjay Shankar Pandey had reserved the order over the bail plea of the journalist after the conclusion of the hearing in the matter on October 12.
Following the rejection of the bail plea, the journalist will now remain in jail despite being granted bail in another case related to Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA).
Advocates Ishan Baghel and Mohammad Khalid had appeared on behalf of Kappan in the Lucknow Sessions court.
The apex court had granted bail to Kappan in September 9, 2022.
A reporter for Malayalam news portal Azhimukham and secretary of the Delhi unit of Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ), Kappan has been in UP police custody since October 6, 2020 in connection with a case lodged against him under Sections 17/18 UAPA, Sections 120B, 153A/295 A of IPC, 65/72 of IT Act for allegedly conspiring to incite caste riots and disrupting social harmony after Hathras gangrape and murder case. Kappan was taken into custody with three of his associates while on way to Hathras in 2020.
The apex court had granted bail to the Kerala journalist, who has been in jail for over two years now, against the Allahabad High Court order which had denied him bail in the case lodged under UAPA.