NEW DELHI: During a recent court session, the Supreme Court extended interim protection granted to activist Teesta Setalvad. The case revolves around her alleged involvement in fabricating evidence against innocent individuals in the aftermath of the 2002 post-Godhra riots. A detailed hearing regarding this matter is set to take place on July 19.
Teesta Setalvad's plea challenges the Gujarat High Court's decision to reject her bail and mandate her immediate surrender to the authorities. Arrested by the Anti-Terrorism Squad of Gujarat Police, the civil rights activist and journalist remained in police custody until July 1, 2022. Notably, her arrest coincided with Prime Minister Narendra Modi being exonerated by the Supreme Court in the Gujarat Riot cases.
This arrest triggered widespread condemnation from organizations such as Amnesty International India and various human rights groups. Demonstrations against her arrest were held in Kolkata and Bangalore. Continuing the court proceedings, the Supreme Court mentioned the lack of certain details in the case during a session in September of the previous year. Suspicion arose concerning the absence of a charge-sheet and the timing of the FIR registration, particularly as it occurred a day after the dismissal of Zakia Jafri's case by the Supreme Court.
Setalvad, Sreekumar, and Bhatt faced allegations of manipulating the legal system, conspiring to fabricate evidence, and falsely implicating innocent individuals in a crime that carried the death penalty.
The Supreme Court, while rejecting Zakia Jafri's plea, whose husband and former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri lost his life during the riots, remarked that "it seems apparent to us that dissatisfied officials from the State of Gujarat, in collaboration with others, aimed to generate sensationalism by divulging falsehoods that they themselves knew to be untrue."
The apex court emphasized that all those involved in such misuse of the legal process must face legal consequences and be subject to due process of law.
Gujarat HC orders Teesta Setalvad to surrender in the morning
