Gujarat to SC: Strong case against Teesta, FIR independent of June 24 ruling
There is a “strong case” made against human rights activist Teesta Setalvad, who was arrested in July for allegedly fabricating documents to frame high-ranking state officials, including then Chief Minister Narendra Modi, in the 2002 Gujarat riots cases, the Gujarat government claimed before the Supreme Court on Monday.
Reiterating that witnesses stated that they were asked to file pre-typed, pre-affirmed affidavits before the riot cases’ Special Investigation Team, the state government said that the investigation was independent of the apex court’s June 24 judgment.
The state government also claimed that the document forgery was part of a conspiracy, hatched at the behest of a senior leader of a political party.
“There is a strong case made out against the petitioner for some of the most serious offences,” a written response filed by the SIT said, “whereby criminal conspiracy was hatched for and by fabricating false evidence.”
The statement further said that there was “a clear intention to get a conviction” of capital punishment for several people, and that there were “systematic efforts” made to ensure that all kinds of evidence were “fabricated.”
Responding to bail application filed by Setalvad, the SIT, formed on June 25, 2022, further claimed: “There is no connection between the order dated June 24, 2022 (which merely affirms the view of the High Court of Gujarat, competent sessions court and the SIT), and the investigation which is taking place under the FIR in question”.
The SIT also claimed that it had collected sufficient material that showed that the bail petitioner wielded substantial influence—by herself and through several others protecting her for their own interests—over witnesses since 2002.
The chairman of the SIT said such influence is by use of money or getting threats administered.
“Investigation conducted so far has brought irrefutable material on record to substantiate the contents of the FIR that the applicant, along with other accused persons, had done various criminal acts of commission and commission to achieve political, financial and other material benefits by means of executing the conspiracy,” the affidavit said.
The SIT said the statement of witnesses established that the conspiracy was enacted by Setalvad along with other accused persons at the behest of a senior leader of a political party.
“It is submitted that the petitioner had held meetings with the political leader and had received large amounts of money. It is submitted that it has come on record by way of the statement of a witness that such money was not part of any relief related corpus,” it added.
The response also made a preliminary objection to Teesta’s act of filing a plea in the top court when the High Court had already issued notice to the state government on her bail application. She had questioned the long gap in the scheduled date of hearing on her plea.
Setalvad, along with former senior police officers R B Sreekumar and Sanjiv Bhat, were arrested on June 25 after the Gujarat ATS filed criminal cases against them at Ahmedabad.
On June 24, the Supreme Court upheld the clean chit given to Modi and others in the 2002 Gujarat riots. In the judgment, the apex court also termed the plea filed by Zakia Jafri, whose husband Congress MP Ahsan Jafri was killed in the violence, as abuse of the process.
In a strongly worded order, the court had said there was a need to put those looking “to keep the pot boiling” with an “ulterior motive” in the dock.