Supreme Court grants interim protection to Teesta Setalvad
New Delhi, July 2 : The Supreme Court on Saturday granted interim protection to activist Teesta Setalvad, whose regular bail was rejected by the Gujarat High Court in a case of alleged fabrication of evidence in relation to the 2002 Gujarat riots.
A three-judge bench of Justices B R Gavai, A S Bopanna and Dipankar Datta granted the interim protection for a week and asked the Gujarat Police not to arrest her till July 8.
The bench also directed the Gujarat Police to file a reply to Setalvad's plea by July 8.
Setalvad's lawyer, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, argued that she was being targeted for her human rights work and that the Gujarat Police was trying to pressure her into withdrawing her petition against the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that was probing the Gujarat riots.
Sibal said that Setalvad had been granted interim bail by the Supreme Court in September last year and that she had not violated any of the bail conditions.
He also argued that the Gujarat High Court had rejected Setalvad's bail plea without giving anycogent reasons.
The Gujarat Police, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, opposed Setalvad's plea and said that she was a threat to the society and that she should be arrested immediately.
Mehta said that Setalvad had fabricated evidence in the Gujarat riots cases and that she had been instrumental in getting innocent people convicted.
He also said that Setalvad was trying to politicize the issue of the Gujarat riots and that she was trying to defame the Gujarat government.
The Supreme Court bench, after hearing the arguments, granted the interim protection to Setalvad and asked the Gujarat Police to file a reply to her plea by July 8.
Setalvad is a well-known human rights activist who has been working for the victims of the Gujarat riots for many years.
She was arrested by the Gujarat Police in June this year in connection with a case of alleged fabrication of evidence in the Gujarat riots cases.
Setalvad has denied the allegations against her and has said that she is being targeted for her human rights work.
