The Supreme Court Today (Oct 22) permitted activist Teesta Setalvad to travel between November 14 and November 24 to attend the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam. Setalvad had received an invitation from the organisers to attend the festival in her capacity as producer of the documentary film Cycle Mahesh.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!![[2002 Godhra Riot] 'Fabrication of Documents': SC Grants Teesta Setalvad Permission to Travel to Amsterdam for Film Festival](https://i0.wp.com/lawchakra.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/image-92.png?resize=820%2C439&ssl=1)
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India granted permission to activist Teesta Setalvad to travel abroad between November 14 and November 24, 2024, in order to attend the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam. Setalvad, who was invited by the festival organizers, will attend the event as the producer of the documentary film Cycle Mahesh.
A bench comprising Justices B.R. Gavai and K.V. Viswanathan reviewed and approved her plea, allowing her temporary travel abroad. This decision comes after Setalvad was granted regular bail in July 2023 in a case involving the alleged fabrication of documents related to the 2002 post-Godhra riot cases.
During the hearing, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Setalvad, informed the bench that she had filed an application requesting permission to travel, as the Supreme Court had earlier ordered her passport to be in the custody of the sessions court following her bail in July 2023.
Sibal emphasized that Setalvad’s presence at the Amsterdam festival was important, stating,
“My documentary has been awarded in Amsterdam. I (Setalvad) am seeking your lordships’ permission to go to Amsterdam from November 14 to November 24.”
Notably, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Gujarat government, did not raise any objections to Setalvad’s request to travel. The bench also clarified that the same conditions previously imposed in August, when she was allowed to travel to Malaysia, would apply in this case.
![[2002 Godhra Riot] 'Fabrication of Documents': SC Grants Teesta Setalvad Permission to Travel to Amsterdam for Film Festival](https://i0.wp.com/cdn.siasat.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Teesta-Seetalvad.jpg?w=820&ssl=1)
Back in August, the top court had permitted her to attend a conference in Malaysia, with specific directions for the return of her passport afterward.
“The petitioner (Setalvad) shall file an undertaking before this court that she will return to India as scheduled and face the trial,”
-the bench directed, adding that Setalvad would need to provide a solvent surety of Rs 10 lakh to the satisfaction of the sessions court.
Furthermore, upon her return from Amsterdam, she will be required to surrender her passport back to the trial judge, as was the case after her trip to Malaysia.
Setalvad’s bail has been a contentious issue. On July 19, 2023, the Supreme Court overturned a Gujarat High Court ruling dated July 1, 2023, which had denied her bail in the case.
The Supreme Court had ruled that Setalvad’s passport, already surrendered, would remain in the sessions court’s custody.
Moreover, she was instructed not to attempt to influence any witnesses involved in the case and to keep her distance from them during the ongoing trial.
Click Here to Read Previous Reports on Teesta Setalvad
FOLLOW US ON YOUTUBE FOR MORE LEGAL UPDATES
