Gujarat govt gets Supreme Court notice on activist Teesta Setalvad's bail plea

Teesta Setalvad has approached the top court against the August 3 order of the Gujarat High Court which issued notice to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) seeking its response to bail applications filed by Setalvad and former Gujarat Director General of Police (DGP) RB Sreekumar and posted the hearing on September 19.

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Gujarat government on a plea of Teesta Setalvad seeking interim bail in a case in which she was arrested for allegedly fabricating documents to frame innocent people in 2002 Gujarat riots cases. A bench headed by Justice UU Lalit sought response from the Gujarat government and posted it for hearing on August 25. "We issue notice. Returnable on Thursday. Serve state of Gujarat standing counsel. Then we will consider inter relief even when matter pending in High Court," said the bench in its order. 

Setalvad has approached the top court against the August 3 order of the Gujarat High Court which issued notice to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) seeking its response to bail applications filed by Setalvad and former Gujarat Director General of Police (DGP) RB Sreekumar and posted the hearing on September 19. 

Setalvad and Sreekumar had approached the High Court after their bail applications were rejected by the Ahmedabad city sessions court. On July 30, the Ahmedabad sessions court had refused to grant bail to Setalvad and Sreekumar while noting that the accused appeared to have aimed to "destabilise" the Gujarat government and defame the state for their ulterior motives.

They were arrested by the Ahmedabad Police Crime Branch on June 25 on the basis of a First Information Report (FIR) registered against them under sections 468 (forgery for cheating) and 194 (fabricating false evidence with intent to procure conviction for capital offences) of the Indian Penal Code.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to probe the case has alleged that Setalvad and Sreekumar were part of a larger conspiracy carried out at the behest of late Congress leader Ahmed Patel to destabilise the then Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by Narendra Modi, who was the Chief Minister of Gujarat at the time.

Former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt is also an accused in the case.The FIR against Setalvad, Sreekumar, and Bhatt was registered after the Supreme Court had on June 24 dismissed the plea filed by Zakia Jafri, widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, challenging the clean chit given by the SIT to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several others in 2002 Gujarat riots.

Ehsan Jafri was among 69 people killed during the violence at the Gulberg Society in Ahmedabad on February 28, 2002. Zakia Jafri has challenged the SIT`s clean chit to 64 people including Narendra Modi who was the Gujarat Chief Minister during the riots in the state.

She had alleged a "larger conspiracy" behind the post-Godhra incident riots.However, the SIT in the apex court had opposed the plea of Jafri saying there is a sinister plot behind the complaint to probe the "larger conspiracy" behind the 2002 Gujarat riots, and the original complaint by Jafri was directed by Teesta Setalvad, who levelled allegations just to keep the pot boiling.