In a significant development, the Gujarat High Court has rejected social activist Teesta Setalvad’s plea for regular bail in a case related to the alleged fabrication of evidence in the 2002 post-Godhra riots cases. The court, presided over by Justice Nirzar Desai, ordered Setalvad to surrender immediately.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Setalvad’s arrest followed the Supreme Court’s dismissal of a plea by Zakia Jafri, the wife of slain Congress Member of Parliament, Ehsan Jafri, who was killed during the 2002 Gujarat Riots. Jafri had challenged the Gujarat High Court’s 2017 order upholding a magistrate’s decision to accept a closure report filed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the case.
While dismissing Jafri’s plea, the Supreme Court made certain observations against Setalvad and former Director General of Police, Sreekumar, terming them “disgruntled”. The court stated that there was a coalesced effort by the two to create a sensation by making revelations that were false to their own knowledge.
Following these observations, Setalvad was arrested by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad from Mumbai and taken to Gujarat. Sreekumar was also arrested in Gujarat. On July 30, 2022, an Ahmedabad sessions court refused to grant bail to Setalvad, noting that she and the other accused appeared to have aimed to “destabilise” the Gujarat government and defame the State for ulterior motives.
Setalvad then petitioned the Gujarat High Court, which issued notice to the SIT to respond to her plea on August 2, before adjourning the hearing till September 19, 2022. Dissatisfied with this time gap, she moved the Supreme Court, which granted her interim bail on September 2, last year.
The recent decision by the Gujarat High Court marks a significant setback for Setalvad, reinforcing the ongoing legal challenges she faces in relation to the 2002 post-Godhra riots cases.