Nithyakalyani Narayanan. V
On June 20th, an Ahmedabad Sessions Court rejected the discharge plea by activist Teesta Setalvad in the 2002 Godhra riots evidence fabrication case. She will now be facing trial in the case. Additional Sessions Judge Ambalal Patel reserved the matter for orders after the conclusion of arguments on July 12.
Setalvad allegedly engaged in document fabrication and witness tutoring to involve higher officials of the Gujarat State government, which was under the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi, in the Godhra riots case.
The decision to reject her discharge plea came one day after the apex court set aside the Gujarat High Court order that rejected bail for Setalvad. The three-judge bench consisted of Justice BR Gavai, Justice AS Bopanna and Justice Dipankar Datta.
Setalvad was arrested by the Gujarat Anti-Terror Squad after a Supreme Court judgment passed in 2022 in another case, where the Court observed that the people who were responsible for maligning the State after the Gujarat riots should be put in the dock. In September 2022, the Supreme Court had granted her interim bail.
Earlier in July 2023, the Gujarat High Court had rejected her regular bail request and ordered her immediate arrest. However, the Supreme Court granted her interim protection until the matter was heard again by the court, hours later. Subsequently, the Apex Court ordered on Wednesday that she will continue to remain on bail and set aside the High Court’s directions.