‘Half-baked justice,’ says Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan as he walks out of UP jail after 28 months

LUCKNOW: Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan, 43, was released from Lucknow jail on Thursday morning, 28 months after he was arrested by UP police under UAPA while on his way to cover Hathras gang rape case in Oct 2020.
He was granted bail in the PMLA case by HC on December 23 and documentation for his release was completed on Wednesday evening.

Kappan was released at 8.30am on Thursday, said Lucknow jailor Rajendra Singh.
On September 9, 2022, the Supreme Court granted bail to Kappan in the case filed against him by the UP Police under the UAPA. But he was not released as the ED case against him under the PMLA was still pending.

Talking to the media Kappan described his release as “half-baked justice” and “justice delayed”. “Those who were arrested with me and falsely framed in the case are still in jail. Only I have come out and also the driver who was with me. How can we say justice is served just because of my release? I will continue the fight for it,” he told the media outside the Lucknow district jail on Thursday morning.
Asked to comment about the delay in his release despite being allowed bail on December 23, Kappan said, “I don't know who all were interested to see me behind bars.”
His lawyer Dhanish KS said that the district court, which was to issue the release order, got closed for winter vacations. “When the court reopened on January 2, we started getting the sureties for his release prepared and by January 6, we got it done. On January 12, we finally submitted in the court, which issued the release order today (Wednesday),” he said.
Asked about the allegations levelled by the police against him, he said, “I had gone to do reporting there (in Hathras). What is wrong with that? Nothing was found on me except my laptop and mobile phone. I had two pens and a notebook too.”
Walking out of prison, Kappan had emotional moments as his wife and family members hugged him with tears in their eyes.
Kappan’s wife Raihana and his eldest son Muzammil had also come from Kerala to receive him. The couple has three children – Muzammil (19), Zidhan (14) and Mehnaz (09).
Asked what he plans to do next, Kappan said he will continue his struggle against draconian laws like UAPA. He said that UAPA was being used as a political tool. “I had been covering the UAPA beat as a journalist for 10–15 years and I myself was falsely framed under the same law and put behind bars,” he said.
Kappan said his biggest sorrow is that his dear mother will not be there to receive him when he goes home. “I have come to a world where my mother isn’t there. When I went to see her (while in custody), she was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and couldn’t even utter a word. She couldn’t even comprehend that I had come. She used to ask me often if I would be able to reach home fast if something happened to her. However, I think she will be happy as I was in jail for a good cause i.e. trying to report about the fight for justice for a Dalit girl,” he said.
Asked as to what he was doing in Hathras that day, Kappan said, “I have lived in Delhi since 2013 and used to cover the Supreme Court and is accredited to cover Parliament, Congress party, and issues related to Dalit and minority communities. I was picked up by police from Mathura and was charged for breach of peace initially. Those raising allegations against me said that I was not a journalist, but they didn’t know that I was the secretary of the Kerala Union of Working Journalists, and a member of the Press Club of India.”
Commenting on the ED chargesheet and allegations of him receiving money from the Middle-east, Kappan said, “All these allegations levelled against me are false. All I have done in my professional career since 2009 is all journalistic. Nothing more, nothing less.”
Kappan’s wife Raihana said, “Two and a half years is not a short time. We have experienced a lot of pain and suffering. But I am happy that justice, though belated, has been served.”
“Our children are waiting to welcome him home. Their happiness was taken away. They are proud to say that Siddique Kappan, a journalist, is their father,” she said.
“Kappan will remain in New Delhi for six weeks to comply with bail conditions of the Supreme Court before returning to Vengara, his native place in Malappuram,’ she said.