In jail since Sept 2020, Siddique Kappan set to be released tomorrow

A sessions court in Lucknow on Wednesday signed the release orders in Siddique Kappan's bail case, a month after the journalist was granted bail by the Allahabad High Court in a PMLA case.

Kappan’s lawyer, advocate Mohamed Dhanish, told Newslaundry that the journalist will be released Thursday morning. He said that he couldn't be released today as the release order was sent to the prison authorities after 4 pm. Sureties in the case have also been verified.

In the release order, the judge directed the superintendent to release Kappan if he was not wanted in any other case after a personal bond had been obtained from him.

Kappan has been in jail since September 2020, when he was arrested under UAPA charges while going to Hathras to report on the rape case and subsequent death of a Dalit woman. 

The journalist was booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act on charges of sedition. He was granted bail in the case by the Supreme Court on September 9, 2022. But he remained in jail in connection with the PMLA case, filed against him and others by the Enforcement Directorate in February last year.