Who is Siddique Kappan? Know about the journalist’s family, age and charges

Siddique Kappan, a journalist from Kerala, was released on bail by the Indian Supreme Court on Friday after being arrested in October 2020 while on his way to Hathras to report on the gangrape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit woman. 

He was granted bail by a bench comprising CJI UU Lalit and Justices PS Narashima and S Ravindra Bhat, highlighting that no conclusive evidence has been shown by the Uttar Pradesh government to substantiate the charges.

Also read: Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan to be released next week: UP official

Who is Siddique Kappan?

Kappan was born in 1980 and is currently 42 years old. He is an experienced journalist associated with the Malayali news outlet Azhimukham and headed the Delhi unit of the Kerala Union of Working Journalists. 

He comes from a Muslim family in Kerala and has three children with his wife Raihana Siddique. His two sons are Zidane Kappan and Muzammil Kappan and his daughter’s name is Mehnaz Kappan. 

Kappan was on his way to Hathras, UP, when he was arrested by the Mathura police for trying to incite violence and was charged with UAPA(Unlawful Activities Prevention Act). The UP government claimed that Kappan was part of a big nexus involving the Popular Front of India (PFI) and based those claims on pamphlets found in his possession.

Also read: Scribe’s release: Family thankful, CPI(M), KUWJ welcome decision of apex court

While granting him bail, the SC observed that Kappan was trying to propagate the idea that the 19-year-old gangrape and murder victim requires justice, and asked, “Is that a crime in the eyes of the law?”. 

The top court also noted that similar protests were held during the Nirbhaya case in 2012 at the India Gate which led to a change in the laws related to rape. “Sometimes these protests are necessary to highlight there is a deficiency somewhere,” it added.