SC grants bail to Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan; asks him to be in Delhi for 6 weeks

News Network
September 9, 2022

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New Delhi, Sept 9: Chief Justice of India UU Lalit on Friday said the Supreme Court will grant bail to journalist Siddique Kappan. The journalist from Kerala was arrested in October 2020 under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) when he was on his way to Hathras in Uttar Pradesh where a Dalit woman had died after allegedly being gang-raped.

The journalist will be released after being produced before the trial court in three days. The top court asked Kappan to be in Delhi for the next six weeks and mark his presence with the local police station at Nizamuddin every week. Some other conditions have also been imposed.

After six weeks, the journalist will be allowed to travel to Mallapuram in Kerala where he shall report each week to the local police station. He has to deposit his passport before release and has been restrained from misusing his liberty by getting in touch with the witnesses, the court said.

Opposing his bail, the UP government had earlier told the top court that Kappan had deep links with the PFI and was part of a larger conspiracy to "incite religious discord and spread terror".

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court had earlier rejected his bail application.

Following his release, Kappan's wife Rahyanth said that for two years, the family had suffered a lot. "We are really grateful to the judiciary. Journalist community also stood with us," Rahyanth said. Kappan's mother passed away in June 2021 while he was in jail. In February 2021, the SC had granted him five days to visit his ailing mother.

Muslim League MP ET Mohammad Basheer hailed the apex court verdict, while adding many such undertrials are languishing in jail.

"It is really good, finally he got bail. Many such undertrials are languishing in jail. Such orders will increase people's faith in judiciary," said Basheer.

He also lauded the Kerala Working Journalists' Union for vigorously pursuing the case.

The sexual assault victim had died at a Delhi hospital a fortnight after her alleged rape by four men from her village in Hathras on September 14, 2020. She was cremated in the middle of the night in her village. Her family members had claimed the cremation took place without their consent and that they were not allowed to bring home the body one last time.

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News Network
November 10,2024

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has warned that disciplinary action will be taken against those officials who change the land mutation records and serve eviction notices to farmers under the Waqf Act.

In a letter, the Revenue Department Principal Secretary Rajender Kumar Kataria reminded all regional commissioners and deputy commissioners in the districts that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah recently had a meeting following complaints about certain land properties being made in favour of the Karnataka Board of Waqfs.

In the meeting it was decided that all the directions issued previously by any government office or authority to change the mutation records has been withdrawn, the letter said.

It added that all the notices served in the past have also been withdrawn and no action should be taken against the farmers who are cultivating on the said land.

On the directions of the chief minister, the previous letters and the latest reminders served on November 7 to the farmers and land owners have been withdraw, the letter said.

"The officials who served reminder-2 despite the chief minister's direction will face appropriate disciplinary action," Kataria said in his letter.

He said he has been instructed to strictly implement the chief minister's direction.

The fresh direction was issued in poll-bound Karnataka, where bypolls to three crucial assembly segments are due on November 13.

Some farmers in Honwad village in Vijayapura in north Karnataka had alleged last month that they were served eviction notices as the Waqf Board claimed rights over it.

Subsequently, complaints started in pouring in from some other parts of the state.

BJP leader Tejasvi Surya on October 25 alleged that Karnataka Waqf Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan directed the deputy commissioners and revenue officials to register lands in favour of the Waqf Board within 15 days, which resulted in confusion.

On Surya's request, the Chairman of the Joint Committee of Parliament on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, Jagdambika Pal visited Karnataka on November 7 and met farmers in Hubballi, Vijayapura and Belagavi districts who had alleged that their lands were marked as Waqf properties.

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News Network
November 10,2024

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Mangaluru: A tragic accident took place on Saturday at Chembugudde near Thokkottu, claiming the life of a 47-year-old woman after a tanker lorry ran over her. The victim, identified as Rahmat H Rashid, was riding pillion with her husband, Abdul Rashid G, on their scooter. 

The couple was traveling from Yenepoya Hospital to Bajpe when the scooter skidded on the poorly maintained road. Rahmat fell onto the road and was fatally struck by a tanker lorry that was coming from behind. Despite being rushed to the hospital, doctors declared her dead upon arrival.

The incident prompted a swift response from the DYFI Ullal Taluk Committee, which staged a protest on Saturday night, condemning the unsafe condition of the road. Nithin Kuthar, president of the committee, criticized MLA and Legislative Assembly Speaker UT Khader for failing to ensure safe infrastructure, despite touting the road as toll-free. 

Kuthar demanded immediate repairs, warning that the committee would march to the MLA’s office with black flags if the road is not fixed within a week.

Former DYFI State President Sunil Kumar Bajal also voiced frustration over the deteriorating condition of Thokkottu market, highlighting the struggles people face while crossing roads riddled with dangerous potholes. In response to public outcry, temporary repairs were made to the road at Chembugudde on Sunday, though locals remain wary and demand a more permanent solution. 

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News Network
November 19,2024

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