The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday, July 5, extended the interim stay on the Gujarat High Court's order, which had denied Teesta Setalvad regular bail. In addition, the SC scheduled the bail plea hearing of the activist on July 19 at 2 pm.
The bench, consisting of Justices BR Gavai, AS Bopanna, and Dipankar Datta, took up Setalvad's plea challenging the Gujarat HC’s decision to deny her bail. The case pertains to an FIR filed against Setalvad by the Gujarat police, accusing her of fabricating documents to implicate high government officials in relation to the 2002 Gujarat riots.
The Supreme Court had previously given a week’s stay on the High Court's order, which required Setalvad to surrender immediately, in a special late-night session on July 1. Setalvad was represented by Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, while Additional Solicitor General SV Raju appeared for Gujarat.
Teesta Setalvad, a civil rights activist and secretary of the NGO 'Citizens for Justice and Peace,' is currently facing scrutiny for her alleged involvement in fabricating evidence and initiating false proceedings related to the Gujarat riots conspiracy case. In 2022, an FIR was filed against Setalvad following the dismissal of a petition filed by Zakia Ehsan Jafri, which claimed a larger conspiracy during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Teesta and Zakia had challenged the closure report filed by a special investigation team (SIT), which dismissed allegations of a broader conspiracy involving high-ranking state officials, including the then-Chief Minister Narendra Modi and 63 others, during the communal violence that occurred in Gujarat in February 2002.
Teesta was taken into custody by the Gujarat Police's Anti-Terrorism Squad from her Mumbai residence on June 25, 2022. Her bail plea was initially rejected by a lower court in Ahmedabad on July 30, 2022, leading to an appeal before the Gujarat High Court. The Supreme Court later granted her interim bail in September 2022, considering her custody period and the advantage of custodial interrogation.
However, on July 1 this year, the Gujarat High Court rejected Setalvad's application for regular bail and ordered her to surrender immediately. The court accused her of intending to tarnish the image of the then-Chief Minister Narendra Modi and polarising a particular community. Setalvad's urgent appeal against this order was heard by a division bench of the Supreme Court. Justice Oka expressed the need for providing Setalvad with "breathing time" to surrender after her bail was rejected, while Justice PK Mishra disagreed. As a result, the matter was referred to a larger bench for further consideration.