The Kerala Union of Working Journalists’ (KUWJ) Delhi unit on Thursday expressed disappointment over the decision of the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court to dismiss the bail application of its former secretary Siddique Kappan.
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“Mr. Kappan is one among our fraternity and is in jail since October 5, 2020. He was arrested while on his way to cover the issue of the rape and murder of a Dalit girl in Hathras. We are making all efforts to challenge the order before the honourable Supreme Court of India. We are hopeful that the Hon. Supreme Court will interfere and uphold the fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression guaranteed to every citizen and more particularly to a journalist under part 3 of the Constitution,” said the unit in a statement.
The unit said it was of the view that reporting an incident could not be termed as a banned activity under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. “We collectively feel that democracy is essential for any nation to survive. Journalism and journalists are an integral part of democracy and they need to exercise and enjoy freedom of speech and expression to function within a democracy. Democracy will be in trouble if journalists are not given freedom of life and liberty while doing their job,” it said.
“...also, we fear that some of the findings of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court seem to be in conflict with the norms of journalistic conduct issued by the Press Council of India under the Press Council Act of 1978,” it said.