In fresh developments in the matter pertaining to the bail plea of journalist, educationist and human rights defender Teesta Setalvad, her lawyers have finished making their arguments in the case.
Readers would recall that at the last bail hearing on July 15, the State had some last minute submissions, as a result of which the bail hearing had been adjourned till today. The State had made a series of bizarre allegations that Setalvad had conspired against the people who led the Gujarat administration in 2002, at the behest of the now deceased Congress leader Ahmed Patel.
It is noteworthy that these allegations had not been mentioned in the First Information Report (FIR) filed against Setalvad, former Gujarat Director General of Police (DGP) RB Sreekumar and former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt.
While Setalvad is the secretary of Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), the organisation that assisted Zakia Jafri, the widow of slain Congress leader Ehsan Jafri, in moving a Special Leave Petition (SLP) demanding a thorough probe into the violence, Sreekumar and Bhatt are whistleblower police officials.
The FIR had been initiated against them a day after the Supreme Court made a series of pointed observations about them in their judgment while dismissing Zakia Jafri’s petition.
Today, Setalvad and RB Sreekumar’s lawyers tore into the Crime Branch’s affidavit and showcased how none of the ‘offences’ alleged in the pertinent matter are maintainable as none of the courts in which the said matter were being heard had made any complaint whatsoever.
They further argued that instead of substantiating their case with adequate evidence, the State has gone into a totally irrelevant ‘broader conspiracy’ which has no immediate relevance to this case. Hence, while any maintainable evidence is non-existent, which would be established during the trial, not granting bail in this matter would be a travesty of justice.
The State represented by the Public Prosecutor will now make their submissions, but as time ran out today, their submissions would continue on Wednesday July 20, when a decision on the bail is expected.
Related:
Free Teesta Setalvad: Peers and fellow activists offer a testament to her tenacity
Human Rights defenders stand with Teesta Setalvad
Indian intelligentsia bats for Teesta Setalvad
Free Teesta Setalvad: A week in the life of a brave human rights defender