Siddique Kappan Co-Accused Atikur Rehman Granted Bail In PMLA Case By Allahabad High Court
The 'Hathras Conspiracy' case accused Atikur Rehman who was arrested in October 2020 along with journalist Siddique Kappan and two others on their way to Hathras to meet the family members of a gang rape and murder victim, was today granted by the Allahabad High Court in the Prevention of Money Laundering Activities (PMLA) case.The bench of Justice Subhash Vidyarthi passed this order today...
The 'Hathras Conspiracy' case accused Atikur Rehman who was arrested in October 2020 along with journalist Siddique Kappan and two others on their way to Hathras to meet the family members of a gang rape and murder victim, was today granted by the Allahabad High Court in the Prevention of Money Laundering Activities (PMLA) case.
The bench of Justice Subhash Vidyarthi passed this order today paving the way for Rehman's release after over 940 days of his incarceration. A detailed copy of the order is awaited. Earlier in March this year, he was granted bail in the Hathras Conspiracy case.
#JustIN | Activist Atikur Rehman, an accused in the Hathras Conspiracy Case, has been GRANTED BAIL in the Prevention of Money Laundering Activities (PMLA) case by the #AllahabadHighCourt today.He is set to walk out of jail after over 950 days of incarceration. pic.twitter.com/SXJQFyPGiy— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) May 25, 2023
Granting him bail in the case, the bench of Justice Attau Rahman Masoodi and Justice Renu Agarwal in March 2023, observed that the counter affidavit, which was filed after the filing of the charge sheet, did not spell out any strong reason which may justify UAPA Accused activist's continued detention.
The Court, in its March 15 order, a copy of which was released today, also noted that the charges against Rehman were framed without affording him a due opportunity of hearing in the trial, and hence, the said order was set aside by the HC earlier remitting the matter back to the trial court for proceeding afresh in accordance with the law.
The Court had also factored into account the orders of the HC and the SC granting bail to the two co-accused (Siddique Kappan and Mohammad Alam) who are named in the same FIR.
It may be recalled that Rehman was held by UP Police on his way to Hathras along with Kappan and 2 others in October 2020 and was booked under Sections 17 and 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Sedition (S. 124-A IPC), Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion (S. 153-A IPC), deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings (S. 295-A IPC) and Section 65, 72 and 75 of the IT Act.
Kappan was also booked under the PMLA Case but was granted bail by the HC in December last year. However, he was released from jail only in February 2023.