Journalist Siddique Kappan, who was recently granted bail by the Supreme Court, will continue to remain in jail as a case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against him is still pending, officials of the prison department said.
The release of Kappan, who was arrested after being stopped in October 2020 while travelling to Hathras in Uttar Pradesh, where a Dalit woman had been raped and died, was ordered by a court here on Monday.
According to DG Jail PRO Santosh Verma, “Kappan will continue to remain in jail while a case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate is still pending.”
The SC bench comprising Chief Justice UU Lalit and Justice S Ravindra Bhat has asked Kappan to stay in Delhi for the next six weeks and mark his presence at a local police station. After that, he was told, he could go back to Kerala but will have to keep reporting to the police.
Kappan had moved to the Apex Court after the Allahabad High Court had denied him bail in August, saying that he had no work in Hathras.
The Supreme Court was not persuaded by the State of Uttar Pradesh’s claim that the materials purportedly taken from journalist Siddique Kappan were of a provocative nature when hearing his bail request.
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