Opposition parties and civil society activists on Friday hailed the bail granted by the Supreme Court to Malayalam journalist Siddique Kappan, who was arrested on terror charges in Uttar Pradesh 23 months ago on his way to cover the gang rape and murder of a Dalit teen in Hathras.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor tweeted: “Glad the Supreme Court has stood against indefinite detention at last.”

Trinamul Congress spokesman Saket Gokhale tweeted: “Long pending but finally justice has been done!”

“The arrest of a journalist from Kerala for covering the brutal rape & murder of a Dalit woman in BJP-ruled UP and his detention for two years is a telling commentary on the BJP and the state of India under Modi-Shah-Yogi,” CPIML-Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya wrote on Twitter.

Former reporter Prashant Kanojia, who was behind bars for two months on charges of defamation for a tweet in 2020, rued the delay in justice.

“SC Granted bail to Journalist Siddique Kappan, who was in jail under draconian UAPA for performing his Journalistic duty. Finally he will be out but justice is delayed,” he tweeted.

Kanojia is now president of the SC/ST wing of the Rashtriya Lok Dal.

Taking to Twitter, senior advocate and activist Prashant Bhushan said: “Great! Finally the SC beginning to undo the enormous injustice done to countless people like Kappan by the totally malafide incarceration by Govts who are hell bent on quelling dissent by hook or crook. Hope we see this trend continuing.”

Delhi University professor Apoorvanand termed Kappan’s bail as a first step in the right direction.

“It is only the first step in the direction of undoing a grave injustice done by the state to Kappan. Other firm steps must be taken,” he tweeted.

Delhi-based activist Safoora Zargar, who is out on bail in a case linking the citizenship protests to the 2020 Delhi riots, highlighted the plight of Kappan’s co-accused.

“Bail after 2 years of unfair and illegal incarceration in a bogus FIR for #SiddiquiKappan. Masood Ahmed and Atik Ur Rahman continue to languish in jail in the same case. Kappan’s mother breathed her last longing for her son. Half of Atik’s body is paralysed,” Zargar tweeted.

Earlier this week, Amnesty International had appealed for the release of Rahman, who had been diagnosed with heart and nerve disorders.

The Left-leaning Delhi Union of Journalists welcomed the bail order.

In a statement, the union said: “Though delayed, this bail order is most welcome. We now hope that bail will also be granted to Kappan in another case filed against him under the PMLA and he will be out of jail… The bail order it feels, is historic as it upholds and protects the freedom of expression in the face of multiple threats today.”