Gujarat riots: SC grants regular bail to Teesta Setalvad
The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted regular bail to activist Teesta Setalvad, quashing the Gujarat High Court's order that denied her regular bail and asked her to "surrender immediately" earlier this month. The Gujarat Police arrested her last year for allegedly fabricating evidence linked to the 2002 Gujarat riots. However, she has been protected by the Supreme Court's interim bail extensions since September 2022.
Why does this story matter?
On July 1, the Gujarat High Court ruled against Setalvad and asked her to surrender immediately. The same day, she challenged the judgment in the apex court, which protected her from arrest, extended her interim bail, and put the Gujarat HC ruling on hold. On July 5, the court again extended the activist's interim bail till July 19.
Don't make any attempt to influence witnesses: SC tells Setalvad
During the hearing, the apex court asked Setalvad "not to make any attempt to influence any witnesses and stay away from them." The bench also granted the Gujarat Police liberty to move the apex court if the accused tries to influence witnesses. The court added that since the chargesheet has already been filed, no custodial interrogation is necessary.
Setalvad was arrested in June last year
Setalvad was arrested on June 25, 2022, after the Ahmedabad Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) accused her of "conspiring to implicate innocent people" in the 2002 Gujarat riots. She was later placed on police remand for seven days before being transferred to judicial custody. Along with Setalvad, former Indian Police Services (IPS) officer RB Sreekumar was arrested as well.
Chargesheet accused Setalvad of 'implicating' Modi
Reportedly, the arrests were made a day after the Supreme Court rejected a plea contesting the clean chit given to former Gujarat CM Narendra Modi in the riot case. Moreover, the chargesheet alleged that Setalvad tried to "implicate" Modi, along with other BJP leaders and the former state government, by being part of a "conspiracy" to fabricate a "false case with false evidence."
Setalvad was among first to advocate for riot victims
Setalvad, a 61-year-old activist-journalist and Padma Shri awardee from Mumbai, Maharashtra, was one of the early advocates for the 2002 riot victims. However, she encountered counter-cases almost immediately. In 2006, she and her associates were accused of unauthorized digging at burial sites of Muslim riot victims in one of the FIRs filed against her.
Setalvad first made allegations against Modi in 2007
Setalvad made her first accusation of conspiracy against Modi and others in 2007 in a special criminal application before the Gujarat High Court, but her petition was dismissed. Subsequently, she appealed to the Supreme Court, leading to a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the violence. Ultimately, the SIT cleared Modi and others, and the Supreme Court rapped Setalvad and her associates last year.
