A Bharatnatyam Backstory To Activist Teesta Setalvad’s Late-Night Reprieve

If a late-night Supreme Court reprieve for activist Teesta Setalvad spelt a Christopher Nolan movie, the East European orchestra would this time give way to a Bharatnatyam performance in the heart of New Delhi. Hushed phone calls, quick exits and split-second decisions would be retained.

Long before the climax at an unusually late hearing on a Saturday night, the characters assembled at a completely unrelated event, a Bharatanatyam dance performance by Suvarna Viswanathan, daughter of Supreme Court Justice KV Viswanathan, was taking place at the Chinmaya Mission in New Delhi.

This event was attended by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, several current and former justices of the Supreme Court, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, and several other senior lawyers.

Around 6 pm, as the dance performance commenced, news arrived that Ms Setalvad, out on interim bail granted by the Supreme Court in September, had submitted a fresh request in the top court after being asked to “surrender immediately” by the Gujarat High Court in a case linked to the 2002 Gujarat riots.

A special hearing for this was scheduled to take place at 6:30 pm before Justices AS Oka and Prashant Kumar Mishra.

Following this, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta was informed about the hearing and immediately departed from the performance to represent the Gujarat government, arguing against Ms Setalvad.

At the end of the hearing, the two Justices had differing opinions, and it was decided to escalate the case to a larger bench of three Justices, for which it was sent to Chief Justice DY Chandrachud.

Around 7 pm, word reached Chief Justice Chandrachud, who momentarily stepped out from the ongoing performance to discuss the issue.

In the meantime, Solicitor General Mehta returned to the event. Shortly after, Chief Justice Chandrachud was seen leaving the auditorium again, only to return 10 minutes later and continue watching the performance.

After the dance performance concluded and attendees began to depart, Chief Justice Chandrachud informed Justice BR Gavai and Justice AS Bopanna about the case.

Both justices agreed to be part of the larger bench, and Chief Justice Chandrachud proceeded to allot the case to Justice BR Gavai, Justice AS Bopanna, and Justice Deepankar Datta, who conducted a hearing at 9:15 pm.

It was just around 10 pm, that the court granted temporary protection to Ms Setalvad from arrest and paused the Gujarat High Court order rejecting her request for bail in the case where she is accused of fabricating evidence.