UAPA, Sedition Case Against Journalist Siddique Kappan & 7 Others Shifted To NIA Court In Lucknow

A local court in Mathura on December 13, 2021, transferred the Sedition, UAPA case registered against Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan and seven others in the alleged Hathras conspiracy case to a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Lucknow.

The Case has been transferred after the prosecution filed an application before the Court in that regard averring that since the Lucknow NIA court has now been designated as the UAPA court for the state, the cases against Kappan and others be transferred to the said court.

It may be noted that Kappan and others are facing charges under Sections 17 and 18 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Sedition (S. 124-A IPC), Promoting enmity between different groups on ground 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.

Earlier, Uttar Pradesh didn't have a designated court for the cases under UAPA, but the UP government on April 20, 2021 designated a Lucknow Court as a special NIA Court. 

It may be noted that as per Subsection (4) and Section 22 of the NIA Act, on and from the date when the Special Court is constituted by the State Government the trial of any offence investigated by the State Government under the provisions of this Act, which would have been required to be held before the Special Court, shall stand transferred to that Court on the date on which it is constituted.

The accused [Atiqur Rahman, Masood Ahmed and Alam and Siddique Kappan] were arrested by the Maan police under the above-mentioned charges while they were going to Hathras in 2020.

Initially, they were arrested under the apprehension of causing a breach of peace and were produced before a court of the sub-divisional magistrate which sent them to judicial custody.

Subsequently, they were booked under the UAPA alleging that he and his co-passengers were trying to incite communal riots and disrupt social harmony in the wake of the Hathras gangrape-murder case.

They have been under judicial custody and in April 2021, eight people linked to Popular Front of India, including its students' wing leader K A Rauf Sherif and Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan, were charge-sheeted by Uttar Pradesh police's Special Task Force in a court here for sedition, criminal conspiracy, funding of terror activities and other offences.

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