Siddique Kappan's Plea For Return Of Passport: Supreme Court Adjourns Hearing; After UP Seeks Time For Instructions

The Bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Alok Aradhe deferred the hearing on Tuesday after Advocate Ruchira Goel, appearing for the State of Uttar Pradesh, told the Court that she had only just received a copy of the miscellaneous petition and was not yet in a position to respond to it.

At the outset, Goel informed the Bench that the copy of the petition had reached her only at that stage and asked that the matter be listed on Monday. She submitted, "I'll have my instructions by then, because I didn't have a copy of the petition."

The Bench acceded to the request. Justice Narasimha remarked, "Okay, then let her take instructions."

The matter was accordingly adjourned for two weeks.

Because the deposit is a term of the Supreme Court's own order, any release of the passport requires that order to be modified, and the State, as the prosecuting agency, would ordinarily be heard before such a modification is considered.

This is not the first time Kappan has asked the Court to revisit the conditions of his release. An earlier miscellaneous application seeking relaxation of the condition requiring him to record his presence at a police station in Uttar Pradesh every Monday was allowed.

In November 2024, Kappan's bail condition were relaxed by the Supreme Court. It had allowed him to report to the Uttar Pradesh police every week in a UAPA case registered against him. “It shall not be necessary for the petitioner to report to the local police station,” the court had said.

In 2022, the Court had granted bail to UAPA accused Kappan in the Hathras conspiracy case. Allegedly Kappan sought to incite riots on way to the Hathras Gangrape site under the garb of journalism.

Opposing Kappan's bail plea before the Supreme Court the state government of UP had filed a Statement of Objections wherein it was stated that investigation into the case has revealed a close nexus and deep connection of Kappan with the top leadership of PFI and its student wing CFI (Campus Front of India).

As per the affidavit, CFI in turn has been found to have connections with Al Qaeda-linked organizations like IHH in Turkey.

Kappan was arrested on October 6, 2020, while on his way to Hathras to report on the alleged gangrape and death of a Dalit girl. He was booked under Sections 17 and 18 of the UAPA, Sections 120B, 153A and 295A of the Indian Penal Code, and Sections 65 and 72 of the Information Technology Act, on the allegation that he was part of a conspiracy to incite riots following the incident.

Although the Supreme Court granted him bail in the UAPA case in September 2022, Kappan remained in custody on account of a separate case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The Allahabad High Court granted him bail in that case in December 2022, and he walked out of jail in February 2023.

Kappan had moved the Apex court with his bail plea after it was rejected by the Allahabad High Court on August 2. The High Court had dismissed Kappan's bail application on the ground that a prima facie case was established against him. "The tainted money being used by the applicant and his colleagues cannot be ruled out," the high court had held.