The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail to Teesta Setalvad, arrested on June 25 for allegedly fabricating evidence to frame “innocent people” in the 2002 Gujarat riots cases.
A bench comprising Chief Justice UU Lalit and Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Sudhanshu Dhulia asked Setalvad to surrender her passport to trial court till the time the Gujarat High Court decides her regular bail plea. The SC asked her to cooperate with the probe agency. On Thursday, the SC expressed displeasure on the High Court for six weeks delay in listing the bail petition.
“Appellant, a lady has been in custody since June 25. The offences alleged against her pertain to the year 2002 and going by assertions, at best the concerned documents date to 2012. The investigating machinery has had the advantage of her custodial interrogation of seven days followed by judicial custody,” the SC said while granting interim bail to Setalvad, directing that she should be released on Saturday.
Referring to the sequence of events of the case, the bench said the High Court, while issuing the notice to the State Government on the regular bail petition, should have considered the plea for grant of interim bail to her. “The essential ingredient of custodial interrogation being completed, the matter of interim bail should have been heard,” it said, adding Setalvad was in police custody for seven days.
Setalvad was arrested on June 25, a day after the verdict was pronounced by the SC rejecting the petition of Zakia Jafri. Former DGP RB Sreekumar and former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhat who is convicted in another case, too were booked on June 25.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta vehemently objected to bail saying Setalvad many times maligned the Gujarat Government and judiciary.
Senior Counsel Kapil Sibal, appearing for Setalvad, rebutted the arguments including the witness statements cited by the Solicitor General. Sibal argued that Setalvad had been targeted because she acted against the State.