Teesta Setalvad gets interim protection from three-judge Supreme Court bench in fabrication of evidence case

The Supreme Court on Saturday granted interim protection to activist Teesta Setalvad for one week, while staying the Gujarat High Court's order, which told her to surrender immediately after rejecting her bail plea in a case of alleged fabrication of evidences in a cases pertaining to 2002 riots.

Also Read | Gujarat High Court rejects regular bail to Teesta Setalvad, orders her to surrender immediately

"We are sorry to say that single judge (of the HC) was totally wrong in not granting even one week's protection her," a special bench of Justices B R Gavai, A S Bopanna and Dipankar Datta said.

Urgently taking up Setalvad's plea on Saturday, a closed day for judicial works, the bench clarified that it was not going into the merits of the matter.

On Saturday, the High Court dismissed Setalvad's bail petition and told her to surrender immediately, rejecting her plea for 30 days time for it.

Even as Solicitor General Tushar Mehta vehemently opposed any relief to the petitioner, the bench asked the question is if heaven is going to fall within seven days.

"What is so urgent that the person should not be granted even seven days of protection? What is so alarming for the HC to reject her plea? We fail to understand it," the bench orally observed.

Senior advocate Chander Uday Singh, appearing for Setalvad, submitted she had earlier on September 2, 2022, been granted interim bail by the top court and it was nobody's case she violated any of the conditions.

Agreeing to the submission, the court said in ordinary circumstances, it would not have intervened into the matter but for the fact that this court had earlier granted her interim bail on the ground that she was a woman and entitled to protection.

The court stayed the HC's order and ordered for listing of her plea before the appropriate bench.

The special three-judge held the sitting at 9.15 pm as a two-judge bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Prashant Kumar Mishra earlier on the evening differed on the issue of grant of interim protection to her.

The FIR in the case was filed by the Gujarat police against Setalvad and others namely 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.