'What can happen in 72 hours?': SC judges differ on grant of protection to activist Teesta Setalvad, matter referred to CJI

The social activist had requested Gujarat High Court to give her 30 days to surrender. But, the court had asked her to surrender immediately. Following this, she moved Supreme Court.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Saturday observed that the Gujarat high court could have granted some time to social activist Teesta Setalvad to surrender even as a two-judge bench of the court had a disagreement on the question of bail for her and referred the matter to a larger bench in connection with the post-2002 Gujarat riots case.

Setalvad moved the Supreme Court shortly after the Gujarat High Court Saturday rejected her regular bail plea and directed her to surrender immediately, observing she made attempts to unsettle a democratically elected government and sully the image of the then chief minister and current Prime Minister Narendra Modi and tried to send him to jail.

During the special sitting, Supreme Court bench judges Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice PK Mishra said that there was a difference of opinion on the issue of granting interim protection to Setalvad and requested the Chief Justice to assign the matter to a larger bench. "There is a disagreement between us on the question of grant of interim protection to her. So we request the Chief Justice to assign this matter to a larger bench," the bench observed.

During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Gujarat government, read out the observations made in the Supreme Court order passed in June last year on a plea filed by Zakia Jafri, wife of slain Congress MP Ehsan Jafri. Mehta submitted that the court had found some material against her after which an FIR was lodged and “If your lordships think there is no material you can pass an order. “

The top court said the high court could have granted some breathing time to Setalvad to surrender and pointed out that she was on interim bail since September last year. "We can take the matter on Monday or Tuesday. What can happen in 72 hours?" the court questioned. The Gujarat high court had directed her to surrender immediately while the latter had requested 30 days. The Gujarat High Court also observed that granting bail would send a wrong signal that everything is lenient in a democratic society.

Setalvad was arrested in June 2022 along with former director general of police RB Sreekumar and former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt on the basis of a complaint lodged against her by Ahmedabad crime branch police for allegedly fabricating evidence in the post-2002 Gujarat riots. The Supreme Court had granted interim bail on September 2, 2022.