A Sessions court in Ahmedabad on Thursday refused to discharge human rights activist and journalist Teesta Setalvad, who was arrested on charges of fabricating evidence in a case related to post-Godhra riots of 2002.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Supreme Court had granted regular bail to Setalvad in a case related to the 2002 Gujarat riots.
The Bench of Justice B.R. Gavai, Justice A.S. Bopanna and Justice Dipankar Datta had quashed the order by the Gujarat High Court, which denied regular bail to Setalvad and termed the High Court verdict as a ‘perverse’ and ‘contradictory’ order.
On July 5, the Apex Court had extended the interim protection granted to the human rights activist from arrest till July 19 in connection with a case registered against her for maligning the image of Gujarat government while handling the Gujarat riots of 2002.
The Special Bench of Justice B.R. Gavai, Justice A.S. Bopanna and Justice Dipankar Datta had sought the response of Gujarat government in the matter and posted the case for final disposal on July 19.
Gujarat Police had arrested the activist on June 25, 2022 on alleged charges of fabricating documents to frame high-ranking officials, including the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in cases related to violence that took place in Gujarat after the Godhra train burning incident of 2002.
Setalvad, who is also the Secretary of Citizens for Justice and Peace, an organisation formed to fight for the victims of 2002 Gujarat riots, was kept in police remand for seven days and sent to judicial custody on July 2.