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Teesta Setalvad moves SC seeking bail in Gujarat riots case. Here's what you need to know

Mohammad BilalAugust 17, 2022 | 13:52 IST

Social activist Teesta Setalvad has filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking bail in a case filed by the Gujarat ATS. The petition was moved by her lawyer Aparna Bhat asking for immediate hearing. It will be heard by CJI Uday Umesh Lalit on August 22.

The case was registered against her and two former Gujarat police officers Sanjiv Bhatt (already serving life imprisonment in another case) and RB Sreekumar.  The case alleges them in falsification of records to implicate high state police officers in the Gujarat riots conspiracy case. 

Who is Teesta Setalvad? She is a former journalist, an activist, a Padma Shri recipient. She is also the founding trustee and secretary of NGO Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP). She established the NGO after the Gujarat riots of 2002 and financially and legally assisted the victims of the riots.

Teesta Setalvad. Photo: AFP

Why is she in controversy? It was the NGO of Setalvad, CJP, that had filed a petition with Zakia Jafri (wife of former Congress MP who was killed in Gujarat riots) in the Supreme Court against the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi and others in Gujarat riots case. The Supreme Court had rejected the petition on June 24, 2022.

  • In 2006, several charges were slammed against her including allegedly hurting religious sentiments, fabricating false evidence and trespassing on burial places among others. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also slammed her for running a defamation campaign against Modi without "substantial evidence". 
  • In 2007, Setalvad had supported the victims of Gujarat riots and requested the SC to launch a fresh probe in the Gujarat riots case. Zakia Jafri had filed a criminal complaint for criminal and administrative culpability against top politicians and policemen. 

What are the fresh charges against her? Setalvad was detained by the Gujarat ATS on June 25 and taken to Ahmedabad in a fresh case filed against her. The case was registered by Ahmedabad Crime Branch. Her arrest came just a day after the SC rejected the petition of Zakia Jafri ruling out larger conspiracy in the Gujarat riots.

  • As per the complaint, the fresh charges institute "false and malicious criminal proceedings against innocent people with intention to cause injury to several persons, and preparing false records and dishonestly using those records as genuine with the intention to cause damage and injury to many persons."
  • The FIR was was registered under sections 468, 471 (forgery), 194 (giving or fabricating false evidence with intent to procure conviction of capital offence), 211 (institute criminal proceedings to cause injury), 218 (public servant framing incorrect record or writing with intent to save person from punishment or property from forfeiture) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal code on a complaint filed by police inspector. 
  • On July 30, a sessions court in  at Ahmedabad rejected the bail applications of both Setalvad and Sreekumar in the case. The court said that if they were released it will send a wrong message to wrongdoers that a person can level false allegations with impunity and get away with it.
  • On August 22, CJI UU Lalit will hear her bail petition in the case. Both Setalvad and Sreekumar are lodged at the Sabarmati jail.
Last updated: August 17, 2022 | 13:53
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