SC to hear bail plea of activist Teesta Setalvad on August 22

Teesta Setalvad. File Pic

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to list on August 22 for hearing the bail plea of social activist Teesta Setalvad who was arrested for allegedly fabricating evidence to frame "innocent people" in the 2002 riots cases.

A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana took note of the submissions of lawyer Aparna Bhat, appearing for the activist, that her plea be listed for hearing.

The bench, also comprising Justices J K Maheshwari and Hima Kohli, has now listed Setalvad's plea before a bench headed by CJI-designate Justice U U Lalit next Monday.

The Gujarat High Court, on August 3, issued a notice to the state government on the bail plea of Setalvad and fixed the plea for hearing on September 19.

Prior to this, a sessions court at Ahmedabad, on July 30, had rejected the bail applications of Setalvad and former Director General of Police R B Sreekumar in the case, saying that if they were released, it will send a message to wrongdoers that a person can level allegations with impunity and get away with it.

Setalvad and former Director General of Police (DGP) RB Sreekumar, both arrested in June, are accused of fabricating evidence to frame "innocent people" in the post-Godhra riots cases.

They are lodged in the Sabarmati central jail. Sreekumar has also moved the high court for bail.

Former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, the third accused in the case, has not applied for bail. Bhatt was already in jail for another criminal matter when he was arrested in this case.

The accused apparently aimed to "destabilize" the Gujarat government and defame the state for their ulterior motives, it said while denying them relief.

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

Mumbai-based Setalvad and Sreekumar were arrested within a couple of days after the Supreme Court on June 24 dismissed a petition filed by Zakia Jafri, the wife of former Congress MP Ehsaan Jafri who was killed in Ahmedabad during the riots, triggered by the torching of a coach of Sabarmati Express by a mob near Godhra station on February 27, 2002.

As many as 59 passengers were charred to death in the incident.

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