Social Worker And Activist Teesta Setalvad Granted Bail By Supreme Court

According to PTI, the Supreme Court granted interim bail to activist Teesta Setalvad in a case involving allegedly falsifying documents to incriminate innocent persons in 2002 Gujarat riots trials. A panel comprised of Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit, Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Sudhanshu Dhulia, and Setalvad, ordered Setalvad to surrender her passport to the trial court till the Gujarat High Court rules on her regular bail motion.

The Supreme Court stated that the Gujarat High Court would decide Teesta Setalvad's regular bail petition independently and without regard to its observations. Setalvad is being held in the major jail in Sabarmati.

"It should be noted that the case is still before the High Court. As a result, we are not evaluating whether Setalvad should be freed on bail; the High Court will make that decision. We are merely present during the pendency of such an application, should appellant's custody be insisted upon or interim bail granted. As a result, we award Teesta Setalvad interim release "According to Bar and Bench, the Supreme Court bench stated.

The Gujarat High Court issued a notice to the state government on Setalvad's bail petition on August 3 and scheduled a hearing for September 19.

Setalvad has been detained since June 25 for allegedly forging documents to accuse high-ranking officials, including then-Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, in the state's 2002 riots cases.

She was arrested a day after the Supreme Court dismissed an appeal filed by Zakia Jafri, wife of Congress politician Ehsan Jafri, who was slain during the 2002 riots at Ahmedabad's Gulberg Society, challenging the SIT's clean chit to then-CM Modi and others.

On July 30, an Ahmedabad sessions court denied Setalvad's and former Gujarat Director General of Police RB Sreekumar's bail applications in the case, saying their release would send a message to evildoers that they could make claims with impunity and get away with it.

Sreekumar, who was arrested alongside Setalvad, has also requested bail from the Gujarat High Court.

Former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, the third accused in the case, has not filed for bail. When Bhatt was arrested in this instance, he was already in jail for another crime.

They were apprehended by the Ahmedabad city crime branch after a First Information Report (FIR) was filed against them under Indian Penal Code sections 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating) and 194 (forgery for the purpose of deception) (fabricating evidence with intent to procure conviction for capital offences).