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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Saturday referred social activist Teesta Setalvad‘s bail plea to a larger CJI-led bench after the two judges differed on the matter.
The social activitist had sought an urgent hearing in the apex court after the high court asked her to surrender immediately in a case of alleged fabrication of documents related to the 2002 post-Godhra riot cases.
A bench of Justices A S Oka and P K Mishra differed on the grant of interim bail to Teesta and referred the matter to CJI D Y Chandrachud for posting it for urgent hearing.
While Setalvad’s counsels C U Singh and Aparna Bhat sought hearing tonight, Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, representing the Gujarat government, requested that the hearing be held on Sunday.
During the proceedings, SG Tushar Mehta said that Setalvad did not deserve even interim bail as she had forged documents, tutored witnesses and influenced the justice delivery system to make sensational allegations against the state government.
Justice Oka appeared inclined to grant Setlvad interim bail till Tuesday when the apex court could have had a detailed hearing on her bail plea.
However, after SG Mehta spoke about the “sinister design” employed by Setalvad, Justice Mishra appeared reluctant to grant her interim relief.
Earlier today, the Gujarat high court rejected the regular bail plea of the social activist and directed her to surrender immediately.
It observed that she made attempts to unsettle a democratically elected government and sully the image of the then chief minister and current Prime Minister Narendra Modi and tried to send him to jail.
Rejecting Setalvad’s plea in a case of fabricating evidence to implicate innocent people in the 2002 post-Godhra riots cases, the court of Justice Nirzar Desai said that enlarging her will send a false signal that everything in a democratic country is lenient.
The court directed Setalvad, who is currently out on interim bail, to surrender immediately. It also rejected her lawyer’s request to give her 30 days to surrender.
Setalvad was arrested in June last year along with former Gujarat Director General of Police R B Sreekumar and ex-IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt in an offence registered by Ahmedabad crime branch police for allegedly fabricating evidence to frame “innocent people” in the post-Godhra riots cases. She was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court on September 2, 2022.
In its judgment, the high court observed that prima facie it appears that Setalvad used her close associates and riot victims to file “false and fabricated affidavits before the Supreme Court with a view to unseat the establishment and to tarnish the image of establishment and the then chief minister (Modi)”.
(With inputs from agencies)
The social activitist had sought an urgent hearing in the apex court after the high court asked her to surrender immediately in a case of alleged fabrication of documents related to the 2002 post-Godhra riot cases.
A bench of Justices A S Oka and P K Mishra differed on the grant of interim bail to Teesta and referred the matter to CJI D Y Chandrachud for posting it for urgent hearing.
While Setalvad’s counsels C U Singh and Aparna Bhat sought hearing tonight, Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, representing the Gujarat government, requested that the hearing be held on Sunday.
During the proceedings, SG Tushar Mehta said that Setalvad did not deserve even interim bail as she had forged documents, tutored witnesses and influenced the justice delivery system to make sensational allegations against the state government.
Justice Oka appeared inclined to grant Setlvad interim bail till Tuesday when the apex court could have had a detailed hearing on her bail plea.
However, after SG Mehta spoke about the “sinister design” employed by Setalvad, Justice Mishra appeared reluctant to grant her interim relief.
Earlier today, the Gujarat high court rejected the regular bail plea of the social activist and directed her to surrender immediately.
It observed that she made attempts to unsettle a democratically elected government and sully the image of the then chief minister and current Prime Minister Narendra Modi and tried to send him to jail.
Rejecting Setalvad’s plea in a case of fabricating evidence to implicate innocent people in the 2002 post-Godhra riots cases, the court of Justice Nirzar Desai said that enlarging her will send a false signal that everything in a democratic country is lenient.
The court directed Setalvad, who is currently out on interim bail, to surrender immediately. It also rejected her lawyer’s request to give her 30 days to surrender.
Setalvad was arrested in June last year along with former Gujarat Director General of Police R B Sreekumar and ex-IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt in an offence registered by Ahmedabad crime branch police for allegedly fabricating evidence to frame “innocent people” in the post-Godhra riots cases. She was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court on September 2, 2022.
In its judgment, the high court observed that prima facie it appears that Setalvad used her close associates and riot victims to file “false and fabricated affidavits before the Supreme Court with a view to unseat the establishment and to tarnish the image of establishment and the then chief minister (Modi)”.
(With inputs from agencies)
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