Satya Prakash
New Delhi, September 2
The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail to activist Teesta Setalvad who has been in jail for more than two months for allegedly fabricating evidence to frame “innocent people” in 2002 riots cases.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India UU Lalit said, however, said her regular bail plea pending before the Gujarat High Court shall be considered on merits independently and uninfluenced by the observations made by it. The top court also asked her to surrender her passport to the trial court until her regular bail plea was decided by the high court.
The Bench — which had on Thursday wondered why the Gujarat High Court listed her bail plea for hearing on September 19 — six weeks after issuance of a notice to the state government ndash; granted her interim bail after hearing senior counsel Kapil Sibal, representing Setalvad, and Soclicitor General Tushar Mehta for the State of Gujarat.
The top court clarified that the order has been passed considering the fact that she was a lady and it can’t be used by other co-accused in the case.
As Sibal said it would be difficult for Setalvad to get a local surety, the Bench said, “It shall be open to the court concerned to consider releasing her on interim bail accepting cash surety.”
The top court said, “Having considered the circumstances on record, in our view, the High Court ought to have considered the application for interim bail during the pendency (of her regular bail plea.”
It said, “The essential ingredients of the investigation, including custodial interrogation, having been completed, the matter assumes a complexion where the relief of interim bail till the matter was considered by the High Court is evidently made out.”
The court took note of the fact that the investigators had the advantage of a seven-day custodial interrogation of the accused.
On Thursday, the top court had asked the Gujarat Government to inform it if there were similar precedents of delayed listing of bail plea of woman accused by 2 pm on Friday.
While issuing a notice to the state government on Setalvad’s bail plea on August 3, the Gujarat High Court had posted the matter for hearing on September 19.
Sibal said facts disclosed in the FIR against her were nothing but repetition of proceedings resulted in the Supreme Court’s judgment and the offence alleged was not made out.
Sibal’s arguments were contested by Mehta who said Setalvad’s bail plea was pending before the High Court and it should be considered by the High Court rather than entertaining an instant challenge. There was sufficient material to indicate Teesta’s involvement in the offence alleged.
The FIR was lodged against Setalvad, former Director General of Police RB Sreekumar, and former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt a day after the Supreme Court dismissed a petition challenging the SIT clean chit to then chief minister Narendra Modi and others in the 2002 post-Godhra riots cases.
Setalvad was picked up from her house in Juhu, Mumbai on June 25 afternoon and later arrested for allegedly fabricating evidence to frame “innocent people” in 2002 riots cases on the basis of an FIR was registered against her at the Ahmedabad crime branch based on a complaint lodged by a crime branch inspector DB Barad.
While dismissing Zakia Jafri’s petition against SIT clean chit to Modi and others, the top court had blamed the petitioners for “keeping the pot boiling” and showing the “audacity” to question the integrity of SIT and said “all those involved in such abuse of process, need to be in the dock and proceeded with in accordance with law”.
Earlier, an Ahmedabad Sessions Court had on July 30 dismissed the bail pleas of Setalvad and Sreekumar in the case, saying releasing them will send a message to wrongdoers that a person can level allegations with impunity and get away with it. Bhatt has not applied for bail.
