PMLA case: HC grants bail to Kappan 26 months after arrest, says no money trail

Kappan had been granted bail by the Supreme Court on September 9 this year in an Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act case after being booked by the UP Police for alleged links with the radical Popular Front of India — the Centre banned the PFI and its affiliates on September 28.

Justice Singh, in the PMLA case bail order, said, “Even if it is believed that part of proceeds of crime was transferred in the bank account of co-accused, Atikur Rahman, that itself may not be sufficient to prove that the accused-applicant (Kappan) has dealt with the proceeds of crime amounting to Rs 1,36,14,291 which had been allegedly received by K A Rauf Sherif (PFI Secretary).”

He 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”.

“…the fact the accused-applicant has already been in prison in predicate offences from 05.10.2020 till he was enlarged on bail by the Supreme Court, and thereafter he is in custody of the ED, I am of the view that the accused-applicant is entitled to be released on bail,” Justice Singh said, directing that Kappan furnish a personal bond and two local and reliable sureties each.

Kappan’s lawyer, advocate Mohammad Danish KS, said his client’s release from custody will have to wait until the court reopens after the winter break.

“My client was granted bail in the PMLA case by the Allahabad High Court. In the UAPA case, Kappan was granted bail by the Supreme Court on September 9. Regarding the PMLA case, the bail application was pending in the High Court after it was rejected by the special court in Lucknow,” he said.

Asked when will Kappan walk out of jail, Mohammad Danish said, “We have to complete the proceedings regarding verification. Today was the last working day of the courts. And now, we have to move an application in the special court regarding the release. On the next working day after the vacation, all this will be done.”

Earlier this month, a Lucknow court framed charges against Kappan and six others in the PMLA case. The other accused are K A Rauf Sherif, Atikur Rahman, Masud Ahmad, Mohammad Alam, Abdul Razzak and Ashraf Khadir.

The police have claimed that the accused are members of the banned PFI and its student wing, Campus Front of India (CFI).

According to the HC order, it was alleged that Kappan and the co-accused were members of the PFI, that Kappan was part of a larger conspiracy hatched by Sherif to visit Hathras with the intention to disturb communal harmony, instigate riots, spread terror and fund anti-CAA protests and other unlawful activities.

It was also alleged that to give effect to the conspiracy, money was collected from abroad through bogus and manufactured transactions, and transferred to the account of the co-accused.

Kappan and three others were held in Mathura on October 5, 2020 while heading to Hathras.

While police said Kappan was part of a conspiracy to disrupt peace in the area, his lawyers said he was going to report on the case of the woman who died after being allegedly gangraped.

On September 9, while granting Kappan bail in the UAPA case, the Supreme Court inquired what exactly had been found against him, and also noted “the length of custody undergone”.