New Delhi: No one is willing to stand surety for Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan a week after he was given bail by the Supreme Court, according to a news report. Kappan, arrested while on his way to Hathras in 2020 to report on the incident of the gang-rape and death of a Dalit teenager by ‘upper’ caste men, has been in jail for almost two years.
Kappan’s lawyer, Mohamed Dhanish, told The Quint on September 16 that they were finding it difficult to find two people to stand local surety for Kappan because of the “sensitive nature of the case”. It’s been nine days since he received bail in the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act case but people are “hesitant” to come forward to help the journalist, his lawyer said.
Kappan needs two people based in Uttar Pradesh to stand as surety for him to be able to avail himself of the bail. Kappan and his family are original residents of Kerala. He had been based in New Delhi before his arrest.
Though his lawyers had requested the court to consider Kappan’s wife and brother who were present during the hearing to be considered as sureties, the trial court in Lucknow, which set his bail conditions on September 12, refused. As per the bail conditions, the court required that his lawyers produce two people, who have Rs 1 lakh worth of value either in their account or by way of assets, as sureties along with a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh as well.
The judge also sought an undertaking from Kappan that he would not breach the conditions imposed on him by the apex court, as The Wire had reported.
At present, Kappan continues to remain in a jail in Lucknow, as a case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against him is still pending, PTI had earlier reported.
He will be released only once he obtains bail in the ED case, Lucknow Jail senior superintendent Ashish Tiwari had told Times of India. The hearing of the case is listed for September 19.