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Synopsis

A special three-judge bench of the Supreme Court today issued notice on the bail plea filed by Teesta Setalvad, challenging the Gujarat High Court's order denying her bail in an evidence fabrication case relating to the 2002 Gujarat riots.

ASG SV Raju, appearing for the Gujarat government sought an adjournment seeking time to translate some documents.

The bench comprising Justices BR Gavai, AS Bopanna and Dipankar Datta thus decided to issue notice on the plea and listed the same for hearing on July 19.

"Then we will just issue notice for now, List on July 19 at 2 PM, one hour for each side to argue", the bench has recorded in its order.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Setalvad, told court that he would also be filing a short note of submissions.

The bench then went on to extend the interim protection which was granted to Setalvad last week.

After a late-night hearing that took place at 9:15 PM on July 1st, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court had stayed the Gujarat High Court's order denying bail to Setalvad and granted one week's interim relief to her.

This three-judge bench was formed after Setalvad had failed to get an immediate relief from a division bench of the Supreme Court on Saturday evening as a bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Prashant Kumar Mishra differed on the issue of grant of protection to her following the rejection of bail to her by the Gujarat High Court.

After recording the disagreement, the division bench had asked the Chief Justice of India to set up a larger bench. 

Setalvad rushed to the top court after the High Court rejected her plea for regular bail in the matter. Acceding to her request, the top court had set up a division bench to conduct a special hearing at 6.30 pm on Saturday.

However, appearing for the Gujarat government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta opposed the plea for grant of any relief to her.

In its impugned decision, the High Court had directed Setalvad to surrender immediately. It had also rejected her plea for 30 days time for it.

The High Court also said that prima facie, it appeared that Setalvad used her close associates and riot victims to submit false and fabricated affidavits before the Supreme Court in a bid to allegedly to undermine the establishment and tarnish the image of the then Chief Minister (Narendra Modi).

An FIR was lodged against Setalvad and former senior police officers R B Sreekumar and Sanjiv Bhatt on the basis of the Supreme Court's judgement in the case of 'Zakia Ahsan Zafri and others Vs State of Gujarat', passed on June 24, 2022.

The top court had on September 2, 2022 granted her interim bail stating that since she is a woman and has been in custody since June 26, 2022 and in light of the documents which were presented and those which are alleged against her in light of the FIR, pertain to year 2002 and going by assertions, at best, the concerned documents were sought to be presented till 2012.

Setalvad's bail plea was rejected by an Ahmedabad court on July 30. Teesta Setalvad, a co-petitioner in the plea before Supreme Court challenging “clean chit” given to then Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the 2002 Gujarat riots case, was detained by Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad on June 25, 2022.