The bail plea of social activist Teesta Setalvad was rejected by the Gujarat High Court on Saturday, 1 July. The court has now ordered her to “surrender immediately.” Setalvad had been granted interim bail in a case related to the 2002 post-Godhra riots, where she was accused of fabricating evidence to falsely incriminate innocent individuals.
Justice Nirzar Desai stated that since Setalvad had already been released from jail due to interim bail granted by the Supreme Court, she should now surrender without delay.
On 25 June of the previous year, Gujarat Police arrested Setalvad, after which she was remanded to judicial custody along with former Director General of Police R.B. Sreekumar, who is a co-accused in the case.
The case in question revolves around a plea filed by Zakia Jafri, the wife of former Congress MP Ahsan Jafri, which was dismissed by the Supreme Court last year. Jafri’s plea was against the Gujarat special investigation team’s clearance of the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi in connection with the 2002 riots.
However, the Supreme Court concluded that the plea had been filed with an “ulterior design.” The court emphasized that all those involved in such misuse of the legal process must face appropriate legal consequences.
In compliance with the Supreme Court’s ruling, the Ahmedabad crime branch filed a First Information Report against Setalvad, Sreekumar, and incarcerated former IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt, accusing them of fabricating evidence to implicate the former Chief Minister.
