Siddique Kappan remains in jail as the high court rejected his plea. (File)
The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court has granted bail to the taxi driver who was arrested along with Kerala-based journalist Siddique Kappan while on their way to Uttar Pradesh's Hathras, where a Dalit woman was gangraped.
The woman had died at a Delhi hospital on September 29, 2020, two weeks after she was raped.
Mohammad Alam was booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act as it was alleged that he was going to Hathras along with others to disturb harmony.
The court, however, imposed five conditions, including that he will have to surrender his passport to the trial court and won't leave the country without prior permission.
The bench of Justices Ramesh Sinha and Saroj Yadav observed, "On the basis of material available on record up to this stage, there appears no reasonable ground for believing that the accusations against the appellant are prima facie, true." "Prima facie, there appears no complicity and involvement of the appellant with the terrorist activities or any other activity against the nation," the court said.
The HC had earlier rejected the bail plea of Siddique Kappan on August 2. He has since moved the Supreme Court.
But the high court did not turn down the driver's plea, saying that his case was distinguishable as no incriminating material was allegedly recovered from him.
The Uttar Pradesh Police had arrested Kappan and three others accompanying him on October 5, 2020, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Information Technology Act.
The prosecution alleged that after an inquiry, it came to fore that the applicant and other co-accused were travelling allegedly to disturb the harmony of the area.
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