Kerala-based journalist Siddique Kappan, arrested in October 2020 while on his way to Hathras where a young Dalit woman had died after allegedly being gang-raped, has approached the Supreme Court seeking bail in the case.
The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court had earlier this month rejected the bail application of Kappan, who was booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the alleged Hathras conspiracy case.
The plea was mentioned for urgent listing before a bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana, which agreed to list it on August 26.
Advocate Haris Beeran mentioned the matter before the bench, also comprising Justices Hima Kohli and C T Ravikumar, and said the high court has denied bail to Kappan.
"Presently, the petitioner has spent almost two years behind bars, on the basis of trumped up charges, only because he sought to discharge his professional duty of reporting on the infamous case of the Hathras rape/ murder," the plea said.
"Therefore, the present petition raises seminal questions pertaining to the right to liberty, as well as the freedom of expression and speech vested in independent media under the aegis of the Constitution," it said.
The plea claimed that the high court has failed to take note of the fact that the FIR or the charge sheet, "ex-facie" does not make out a case for the invocation of sections 17 and 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).