Masood Ahmed, Siddique Kappan’s co-accused granted bail in UAPA case

Lucknow: Student activist Masood Ahmed has been granted bail by the Allahabad High Court in relation to the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) case pertaining to the reporting of Hathras gangrape, where journalist Siddique Kappan is one of the accused parties.

Ahmed had been detained since October 5, 2020, according to its order on March 12 by a court led by Justice Attau Rahman Masoodi, while the other accused parties had been given bail. But the High Court declared that it was not going to address the case's merits.

In October 2020, while heading to Hathras in Uttar Pradesh, where a Dalit woman was allegedly gangrapped and killed on September 14, 2020 by four upper-caste Thakur males, Ahmed was detained together with Kappan, Mohammad Alam, and PhD researcher Atikur Rahman, Scroll.in reported.

Uttar Pradesh Police lodged a booking against the four individuals under the UAPA and on allegations of sedition.

The Enforcement Directorate brought legal action against them in February 2021 in accordance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The four individuals were accused by the central agency of receiving funds to "incite riots" from the now-banned Popular Front of India.

Ahmed was refused bail by a special National Investigation Agency court in Lucknow in December 2022. The student leader had filed a petition against the order with the Allahabad High Court.

Ahmed's legal representative argued that the student leader had no allegations against him regarding his affiliation with any terrorist group or his connections to the Campus Front of India, the student wing of the Popular Front of India.

The counsel stated that he had not been found in possession of any incriminating items.

The Uttar Pradesh government's Additional Advocate General, Shiv Nath Tilhari, stated that Ahmed's affiliation with the Popular Front of India was the reason the special court denied his bail request. Tilhari continued, saying that the group was aiming to sow discord by inciting caste and religious hatred as well as engaging in terrorist acts within the nation.

However, the High Court granted Ahmed bail, stating that the special court had neglected to consider the material on record.

In the UAPA case, the Supreme Court had granted Kappan bail on September 9, and the Allahabad High Court had done the same on December 23 in relation to the money laundering case. But because of administrative snags, Kappan was kept behind bars for more than a month in spite of the bail rulings. Eventually, on February 2, he was released.