Khushi Bajpai
Published on: 22nd August, 2022 at 22:00 IST
The Supreme Court gave notice on a motion for bail made by social activist Teesta Setalvad on Monday. The Gujarat ATS had filed the case and claimed that high-ranking state officials were implicated in a plot to start the Gujarat riots through the falsification of records.
First, senior advocate Kapil Sibel, who was representing Teesta, was questioned by Justice Umesh Lalit, the sitting judge of the bench, if there was any objection to him hearing the case because he was representing “few of the accused in the Sohrab Uddin murder matter”.
Sibel said he has nothing against it.
The bench then started hearing the case, which was joined by Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Sudhanshu Dhulia.
Sibel brought the court’s attention to the FIR that was filed against Teesta under Sections 468, 471, 194, and 211 of the Indian Penal Code and argued that nothing further than a repetition of previous events that led to the Supreme Court’s ruling was alleged to have happened against her.
He added that Teesta was brought into jail on June 25 and has remained there ever since. The trial court rejected her request for release; yet, after giving notice, the matter was postponed until September 19. In the interim, no temporary relief has been given.
The Supreme Court has reserved the case for hearing on Thursday, August 25, and ordered the petitioner to serve as the state’s standing attorney.
Zakie Jafri’s petition was dismissed by a bench chaired by Justice AM Khanwilkar, who had previously accused the petitioners of stirring up trouble and having the temerity to cast doubt on the special investigation team’s objectivity.
The bench also stated, “All those involved in such an abuse of process need to be in the dock and proceeded with in accordance with the law.”
The Gujarat ATS detained Teesta Setalvad, RB Sreekumar, and Sanjiv Bhatt the very next day in connection with a case taken claiming the filing of fake proceedings using falsified documents in reference to the 2022 riots. Sanjiv Bhatt is already serving time in prison for another matter.