Chidambaram: Why are courts denying bail to Siddique Kappan, Munawar Faruqui?
Former finance minister and senior Congress chief P Chidambaram Thursday expressed his displeasure over the courts denying bail to Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan and slapstick comedian Munawar Faruqui, saying “equality means equal access to justice and equal application of legal principles.”
Taking to Twitter, Chidambaram stated, “Why are the courts denying bail to journalist Siddique Kappan and comedian Munawar Faruqui? Equality means equal access to justice and equal application of legal principles.”
“Despite the judgment of the Constitution Bench (Justice Ravindra Bhat) and one other Bench (Justice Chandrachud), why is the precept ‘Bail is the Rule and Jail is the Exception’ not being utilized in each case? he tweeted.
Why are the courts denying bail to journalist Siddique Kappan and comic Munawar Faruqui?
Equality means equal entry to justice and equal utility of authorized ideas
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) January 21, 2021
Faruqui, 28, was arrested together with Nalin Yadav, Prakhar Vyas, Priyam Vyas and Edwin Anthony on January 1 for “hurting religious sentiments” at a present in Indore. The arrests have been made based mostly on a grievance by Eklavya Gaud, the son of BJP MLA Malini Gaud. The subsequent day, Faruqui’s pal Sadakat Khan was held when he went to fulfill him in court docket.
And final October, Kappan together with Atiq-Ur-Rahman, Masood Ahmed and Alam was arrested in Mathura whereas on their method to Hathras, the place a 19-year-old Dalit lady had been allegedly gangraped, resulting in her demise in a Delhi hospital.
Faruqui was booked beneath IPC Sections 295A (outraging spiritual emotions) and 269 (illegal or negligent act prone to unfold the an infection of any illness harmful to life) amongst different expenses.
Last Friday, the Indore police, after saying it has no proof relating to the allegations in opposition to Faruqui, failed to supply a case diary earlier than the Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court at his bail listening to. Still, the case in opposition to the comic now has six kids behind bars for greater than a fortnight. Of the six, one is the brother of the present’s organiser who was within the viewers, one other a pal of Faruqui’s who had nothing to do with the occasion, and a 3rd whose solely household is a minor brother operating round for him now.
An Indore Sessions Court has rejected all of the bail petitions it has heard to this point. After the adjournment Friday as a consequence of “non-availability” of police case diary, the High Court will take up Faruqui’s bail plea earliest by subsequent week.
In Kapan’s case, the UP Police has claimed that the accused gathered funds to instigate riots on foundation of caste “as they have done on basis of religion in protest of CAA”. The UP authorities had earlier submitted that the 4 have been a part of the Popular Front of India and former members of the Students Islamic Movement of India.
On January 9, a court docket in Hathras admitted an utility of the UP Special Task Force (STF) to membership two related instances lodged in opposition to Kappan and three others. While one case was lodged in opposition to the 4 in Hathras, the opposite was lodged at Maat Police Station in Mathura. In each instances, provisions beneath the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in addition to IPC provisions referring to sedition and try to advertise enmity between totally different teams have been invoked. According to the police, the 4 have been half of a bigger conspiracy to instigate caste riots.
They have been booked beneath IPC sections 124-A (sedition), 153-A (selling enmity between totally different teams on floor of faith, race, and so forth) and 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts meant to outrage spiritual emotions), and provisions of the UAPA.
