Siddique Kappan’s trial and tribulations – from allegations to court observations

What is the UAPA case against him?

Kappan was arrested by the UP police along with three others — Athikur Rehman, Alam and Masood — in October 2020 while he was on his way to Hathras in Uttar Pradesh, where a Dalit woman was killed after allegedly being raped.

He was booked by the police under provisions of the UAPA and accused of attempting to create unrest and instigate protests in connection with the incident.

The UP Special Task Force in its chargesheet filed against Kappan stated that he worked as a “think tank” of the PFI. It alleged that he was attempting to publish “anti-Hindu” stories in the Malayalam media. The STF also claimed that the PFI wanted to create unrest and a riot-like situation in the garb of a protest demanding justice for the Hathras victim.

The UP Police had also relied on statements from two eyewitnesses, who claim that Kappan and Rahman were trying to incite a crowd against the administration, the day after the victim’s body had been cremated.

The case was then transferred to a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Lucknow in 2021.

Kappan’s bail was rejected by the Allahabad High Court on August 2, 2022 following which he approached the Supreme Court for bail.

What did the Supreme court say while granting him bail?

Kappan was granted bail by the Supreme court on September 9.

Questioning the police claim that literature meant to incite riots had been seized from the vehicle in which he was travelling, Chief Justice of India U U Lalit said, “Every person has a right to free expression. He is trying to show that the (Hathras) victim needs justice, and raises a common voice. Will this be a crime in the eyes of law?”

The apex court said it was granting bail to Kappan “considering the length of custody undergone by the appellant and the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case”.

However, he continued to remain in jail because of a money laundering case registered against him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

What is the ED case against him?

The ED prosecution complaint (equivalent to a chargesheet) was filed against five office bearers and members of the Popular Front of India (PFI) and its student wing Campus Front of India (CFI), claiming that the organisation funded and participated in anti-CAA protests of 2019-20, the February 2020 Delhi riots and the Hathras protests.

The ED prosecution complaint named Kappan; Atikur Rahman, national treasurer of CFI; Masud Ahmed, Delhi general secretary of CFI; and Md Alam, a CFI/PFI member, as the accused in this case.

The ED claimed in its prosecution complaint that the national general secretary of CFI, K A Rauf Sherif, raised funds through PFI members in the Gulf and channelled them into India through fraudulent transactions.

Though the ED prosecution complaint was limited to the Hathras case, the agency had claimed “proceeds of crime amounting to around Rs 1.36 crore was obtained as a result of criminal activity relating to the offence of criminal conspiracy under section 120-B of IPC and part of it was used by PFI/CFI office bearers/members/activists in India for their continuous unlawful activities over time, which included, but were not limited to, funding of anti-CAA protests, inciting violence and fomenting trouble which led to Delhi riots in the month of February 2020; and in respect to the more specific incident investigated in this Prosecution Complaint, which was the purported visit of PFI/CFI to Hathras with intent to disturb communal harmony, incite communal riots and spread terror”.

Why was Kappan granted bail in the ED case?

Kappan was granted bail by the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on December 23.

In his order, Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh said: “Except for allegations that Rs 5,000 was transferred in the bank account of co-accused, Atikur Rahman, there is no other transaction, either in the bank account of the accused-applicant or in the bank account of co-accused.”

The Allahabad HC said Kappan was entitled to be released on bail as the “proceeds of crime is less than Rs 1 crore and there is no likelihood” that Kappan will “commit the same offence in future”.

What was the delay in Kappan’s release in the ED case?

Kappan’s lawyer, advocate Mohammad Danish K S, said that the delay was due to the verification of the local sureties.

“In the UAPA case, it took 90 days for the verification of sureties. In the ED case on January 6, we had presented our sureties and the verification began on January 12. The delay in his release was on account of the verification of the sureties,” Danish told The Indian Express.