On August 4, Allahabad High Court judge Krishan Pahal said Kappan “had no work in Hathras and, therefore, his sojourn with persons (in Hathras) who do not belong to the media fraternity is a crucial circumstance going against him.”
Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), in a press communiqué, commended the Indian Supreme Court’s earlier decision, in which Muhammad Zubair, the fact-checker with AltNews got justice from the apex court, reported enewsroom.in.
However, IAMC has criticized the decision of the High Court and lower court to deny bail to Siddique Kappan, who has been a prisoner of conscience since his arrest on false charges two years ago in Uttar Pradesh.
On August 4, Allahabad High Court judge Krishan Pahal said Kappan “had no work in Hathras and, therefore, his sojourn with persons (in Hathras) who do not belong to the media fraternity is a crucial circumstance going against him.”
The press release from IAMC stated, “Virtually accepting the talking points of the police, the judge said Kappan’s defense that he was visiting Hathras as a journalist ‘stands nullified by the averments in the chargesheet.’ The judge also accepted the allegations that Kappan used “tainted money” to incite violence.
“It should concern us all that there is now a dangerous trend in India’s judiciary to accept the police’s version even when the trial has not been completed and the trial court is yet to rule on the prosecution’s claim against an accused.”
— Syed Ali, IAMC President
“It is shocking that the Allahabad High Court has decided to deny bail to Kappan saying he had “no business” to be in Uttar Pradesh,” said Syed Ali, IAMC President. “Under India’s Constitution, all citizens have every right to travel across the country, especially as journalists whose job it is to investigate and report.”
The Uttar Prasdesh government arrested Kappan in October 2020 as he traveled to Mathura city to report on the rape and murder of a Dalit girl. Since then, Kappan has been repeatedly denied judicial relief. “It should concern us all that there is now a dangerous trend in India’s judiciary to accept the police’s version even when the trial has not been completed and the trial court is yet to rule on the prosecution’s claim against an accused,” Ali said.
Kappan’s arrest has also been widely condemned internationally.
IAMC claimed that Kappan was also falsely accused without any evidence of raising funds to run a website and for carrying a dossier on imparting training ‘to incite violence.’ The police have also falsely accused him of being a member of the Muslim organization, the Popular Front of India (PFI), even though he only worked as a journalist with the PFI’s newspaper. “In any case, the PFI is not a banned organization, so accusing Kappan of criminal conduct merely for alleged association with it did not stand up to legal scrutiny,” it added.
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