LUCKNOW: The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court granted bail to taxi driver Mohammad Alam, one of the accused booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act along with Kerala-based journalist Siddique Kappan while on way to Hathras in 2020.
Meanwhile, Kappan, on Wednesday, approached the Supreme Court challenging the Allahabad High Court order rejecting his bail on August 2. The plea was mentioned before Chief Justice of India NV Ramanna by Kappan’s advocate Haris Beeran seeking urgent listing. The CJI listed the matter for Friday, August 26.
Notably, Kappan and his associates were headed to Hathras in the taxi of Mohammad Alam when they were arrested by the UP police on October 5, 2020. Kappan claimed that he and his friends were going to Hathras to fulfil their journalistic responsibilities as a SC minor was allegedly gang-raped there on September 14, 2020 and she died in a Delhi hospital after battling for life for a fortnight on September 29, 2020.
Siddique Kappan and his associates were then booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Information Technology Act.
While granting bail to Alam on Tuesday, a division bench, comprising Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Saroj Yadav, said that on the reasonable ground and on the basis of the material available on record up to this stage, the accusations against the appellant did not appear to be prima facie true.
“Prima facie, there appears no complicity and involvement of the appellant with the terrorist activities or any other activity against the nation,” the court said.
The court said that the case of this accused appellant was different from the case of co-accused Siddique Kappan from whose possession incriminating material was allegedly recovered.
The court also pointed out that observations made in this order (bail order) will have no effect in trial court’s proceedings in this case.
According to the police authorities, some pamphlets, a laptop and six smartphones were recovered from the possession of Kappan and his associates. The prosecution alleged that after an inquiry, it came to fore that the applicant and other co-accused were travelling allegedly to disturb the harmony of the area.
In July last year, additional sessions judge, Mathura, Anil Kumar Pandey had rejected Kappan’s bail application stating that Kappan and others committed acts that promoted enmity in the society.
At present, Kappan and other co-accused in the case are lodged in Lucknow prison.