The Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ), which played a key role in the legal fight for journalist Siddique Kappan who was arrested while on his way to report on a gang rape in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras, has welcomed the Supreme Court's decision to grant him bail.
Calling the bail order a “historic intervention” to protect media freedom, the KUWJ in a press release here on Friday accused the Uttar Pradesh Police of framing a false case against the journalist who was doing his duty.
The statement said the Uttar Pradesh government and its police department had tried several methods to delay the case and keep him in jail ever since the KUWJ approached the Supreme Court with a Habeas Corpus petition. False accusations were levelled against the KUWJ and its office-bearers, and even against Mr. Kappan's wife.
