Teesta Setalvad, an activist, left Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati Central Jail on Saturday, one day after the Supreme Court granted her temporary release in a case involving the 2002 Gujarat riots. Setalvad was detained on June 26 after being apprehended on June 25 for allegedly falsifying evidence relating to the Gujarat riots. Setalvad was presented before Sessions Judge V A Rana on Friday as per the apex court’s directive for the bail procedures.
In addition to the conditions set by the top court, the sessions court added two more. According to news agency PTI, special public prosecutor Amit Patel stated that the sessions court ordered the accused to post a personal bond of Rs 25,000 and not leave India without its prior approval.
Setalvad’s arrest was made possible by the Supreme Court’s dismissal of a petition by riot victim Zakia Jafri challenging the Special Investigation Team’s (SIT) “clean bill of health” for high-ranking members of the Gujarat government at the time, including then Chief Minister Narendra Modi, in riot-related cases on June 24 of this year.
Setalvad Detained
The following day, the Ahmedabad Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) detained Teesta Setalvad, a supporter of Zakia Jafri, and retired state DGP R. B. Sreekumar, whose involvement had been questioned by the court. Sreekumar and Setalvad were accused under the IPC’s criminal conspiracy, forgery, and other sections after a police officer filed an FIR that heavily referenced the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, who is currently incarcerated in connection with another case, was also named in the FIR. On July 30, a judge in Ahmedabad denied Setalvad bail. Her appeal was only heard by the Gujarat High Court on September 19. In a case involving personal liberty, Setalvad filed a complaint with the SC in opposition to the Ahmedabad court’s order and the High Court’s decision to set an extraordinarily long deadline.
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