[BREAKING] Teesta Setalvad moves Supreme Court for bail; Bench headed by Justice UU Lalit to hear plea on August 22

Human rights activist Teesta Setalvad has moved the Supreme Court seeking bail after she was arrested for allegedly fabricating documents to frame high ranking officials including then Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the 2002 Gujarat Riots cases [Teesta Atul Setalvad and Another v. State of Gujarat]..On August 2 this year, the Gujarat High Court had issued notice to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) asking it to respond to bail applications filed by Setalvad and former Gujarat Director General of Police (DGP) RB Sreekumar. The matter is slated to be heard by the High Court on September 19.It is this long gap in the next hearing date that Setalvad has taken objection to, in her appeal before the top court.She has submitted that as per the judgment of the Supreme Court in Satendar Kumar Antil v. CBI, bail matters must be heard expeditiously. "Despite the same, the first date fixed by Hon'ble High Court in the present case is after one and a half months," the plea said..The appeal was mentioned before a Bench of Chief Justice of India NV Ramana and Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli this morning. The Bench directed the matter to be listed before a Bench headed by Justice UU Lalit on August 22..On June 24 this year, the Supreme Court had dismissed the plea by Zakia Jafri - wife of former Congress Member of Parliament Ehsan Jafri - who had challenged the Gujarat High Court’s decision of 2017 upholding the Magistrate's decision to accept the closure report filed by the SIT in the case.While dismissing the plea, the top court had made observations against Setalvad and former DGP Sreekumar, terming them "disgruntled". The Court said that there was a coalesced effort by them to create a sensation by making revelations that were false to their own knowledge."At the end of the day, it appears to us that a coalesced effort of the disgruntled officials of the State of Gujarat along with others was to create sensation by making revelations which were false to their own knowledge. The falsity of their claims had been fully exposed by the SIT after a thorough investigation," the judgment had said.Such officials need to be in the dock for "keeping the pot boiling" with ulterior motives, the Court had said.Subsequently, Setalvad was arrested by the Gujarat anti-terrorism squad from Mumbai and taken to Gujarat. Sreekumar was also arrested from Gujarat..On July 30 this year, an Ahmedabad sessions court had refused to grant bail to Setalvad, noting that she and other accused appeared to have aimed to “destabilise” the Gujarat government and defame the State for ulterior motives.Granting bail to the accused would encourage the wrong-doers that in spite of “making such accusations against the then chief minister and others, the court has lightly enlarged them on bail,” the order had said.The lower court was of the view that the complaint filed by Zakia Jafri against then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and other officials in the wake of the 2002 Gujarat Riots was inspired and instigated by Setalvad, Sreekumar and other accused."It apparently appears that Zakia Jafri had been used as a tool by both the applicants-accused and others with a view to accusations levelled against the then C.M and others about incident was of larger conspiracy and with a view to that they have prepared false number of affidavits and documents, in-spite of the things, which were not in real with a view to defame the then C.M. as well as bureaucrat and police personals as well as to defame country in the world as well as to get the monetary benefit from the other countries," the order said.Setalvad then moved the Gujarat High Court for bail which issued notice in the matter but did not grant any interim relief and gave a long date for the next hearing..Setalvad has contended in her appeal filed through Advocate Aparna Bhat before the apex court that she has been facing a barrage of cases since she "challenged the administration at the highest level" and was the voice of many victims of the 2002 Gujarat riots."Petitioner has been targeted for providing support to the victim of the riots. When a key witness had made allegations against the petitioner the court after an enquiry had come to the conclusion that the witness was indeed unreliable," the plea said.The attack on the petitioner has intensified and the observations made in the judgement of the Supreme Court is being used to persecute the petitioner, it has been contended.