‘Surrender without delay’: Gujarat HC rejects regular bail to Teesta Setalvad
The Gujarat high court on Saturday denied the regular bail application of Mumbai-based activist Teesta Setalvad, directing her to surrender without delay. The matter pertains to the fabrication of evidence in 2002 post-Godhra riots cases allegedly by her.
The bench of justice Nirzar Desai gave the order upholding the court’s decision to reject Setalvad’s bail plea and directed her to surrender immediately.
Senior counsel Mihir Thakore made a plea to the court to stay the implementation of the verdict for a duration of 30 days.
Setalvad had been shielded from arrest through interim bail provided by the Supreme Court in September last year. As a result, she was released from judicial custody in the ongoing case.
Setalvad is facing charges related to propagating a larger conspiracy behind the 2002 riots and allegedly attempting to frame Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others.
On June 15, the state’s prosecution, while opposing Setalvad’s plea for regular bail in the high court, emphasised that the charges against Setalvad pertain to the alleged fabrication of false evidence.
The prosecution had claimed that she received ₹30 lakh from late Congress leader Ahmed Patel, with the aim of destabilising the Narendra Modi-led government in Gujarat after the riots in 2002.
The state government, during the court hearing, labeled Setalvad as a “tool” of a politician with the task of defaming Gujarat.
Setalvad, along with co-accused former IPS R B Sreekumar, was arrested by the Gujarat Police on June 25 last year. The arrest came following a first information report (FIR) filed by the Ahmedabad Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) regarding alleged conspiracy to falsely implicate innocent individuals in relation to the 2002 Gujarat riots.
After a seven-day police remand, Setalvad was placed in judicial custody on July 2. Her arrest came a day after the Supreme Court dismissed Zakia Jafri’s plea challenging the Special Investigation Team’s (SIT) clean chit to then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and others regarding the conspiracy allegations in the riots.
Public prosecutor Amin had objected to Setalvad’s bail plea, emphasising that she, along with two police officers, Sreekumar and Sanjiv Bhatt, conspired to propagate the larger conspiracy aspect which was to destabilise the Gujarat government shortly after the tragic Godhra train incident in 2002.
The prosecutor alleged that Setalvad was also being manipulated by a politician belonging to a particular political party.
According to the SIT, they uncovered evidence suggesting that Setalvad had received financial assistance from a prominent leader of a rival political party. Her bail plea was opposed in July last year in the sessions court by the government on similar grounds.
To substantiate these claims, the prosecutor cited witness testimonies, including that of Rais Khan, Setalvad’s former close aide who later fell out with her in 2008. Khan’s statement described a meeting between Setalvad and Congress leader Patel at the circuit house in Ahmedabad.
During the meeting, Patel allegedly instructed Setalvad to ensure that certain individuals were punished and sent behind bars.
The prosecutor read out Khan’s statement, which mentioned the involvement of other IPS officers in their activities. The prosecutor further supported the assertion made in the chargesheet that Setalvad had received ₹30 lakh from the Congress leader.
He quoted recorded statements of Khan and Narendra Brahmbhatt, who claimed to have made the payment to Setalvad on Patel’s instructions. Additionally, it was alleged that Setalvad’s efforts were aimed at tarnishing the image of PM Modi and unsettling the established government.
The prosecution argued that Setalvad initially targeted Vitthalbhai Pandya, the father of former home minister Haren Pandya, but he refused to level allegations against individuals unrelated to the riots, Setalvad shifted her focus to Zakia Jafri, the prosecutor said.