The Supreme Court has granted interim bail to human rights activist Teesta Setalvad after Gujarat police arrested her for allegedly fabricating documents to frame officials including then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi in connection with the 2002 Godhra riots.
The bench headed by Chief Justice of India Uday Umesh Lalit and Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Sudhanshu Dhulia has however maintained that the bail hearing will be heard by Gujarat high court.
“The essential ingredient of custodial interrogation being completed the matter of interim bail should have been heard. It must be said that matter is still pending before High Court. We are therefore not considering whether Setalvad is released on bail or not and High Court shall decide the same. We are only on during pendency of such application, should the custody of appellant be insisted upon or be granted interim bail. Thus we grant Teesta Setalvad interim bail,” the Court ordered.
Setalvad’s plea before High Court is listed for hearing on September 19. The long adjournment was sought by Setalvad so that she could approach the apex court in the meantime.
Background of Setalvad’s arrest
Gujarat Police Crime Branch had arrested Teesta Setalvad in July in connection with a case against her NGO. The arrests came after Union Minister Amit Shah, in an interview with ANI, said that Teesta Setalvad-run NGO gave baseless information about the 2002 Gujarat riots to the police.
The Supreme Court had around the same time, dismissed as “devoid of merit” an appeal by Zakia Jafri in a plea challenging SIT’s clean chit to the then chief minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, and others in cases related to the riots.
Zakia Jafri is the widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri who was killed in the riots.
