SC to hear bail plea of activist Teesta Setalvad on August 22

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to list on August 22 for hearing the bail plea of social activist Teesta Setalvad who was arrested for allegedly fabricating evidence to frame innocent people in the 2002 riots casesA bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana took note of the submissions of lawyer Aparna Bhat appearing for the activist that her plea be listed for hearingThe bench also comprising Justices J K Maheshwari and Hima Kohli has now listed Setalvads plea before a bench headed by CJIdesignate Justice U U Lalit next MondayThe Gujarat High Court on August 3 issued a notice to the state government on the bail plea of Setalvad and fixed the plea for hearing on September 19Prior to this a sessions court at Ahmedabad on July 30 had rejected the bail applications of Setalvad and former Director General of Police R B Sreekumar in the case saying that if they were released it will send a message to wrongdoers that a person can level allegations with impunity and get away with itSetalvad and former Director General of Police DGP RB Sreekumar both arrested in June are accused of fabricating evidence to frame innocent people in the postGodhra riots casesThey are lodged in the Sabarmati central jail Sreekumar has also moved the high court for bailFormer IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt the third accused in the case has not applied for bail Bhatt was already in jail for another criminal matter when he was arrested in this caseThe accused apparently aimed to destabilize the Gujarat government and defame the state for their ulterior motives it said while denying them reliefThey were arrested by the Ahmedabad city crime branch in June after a First Information Report FIR was registered against them under Indian Penal Code sections 468 forgery for cheating and 194 fabricating false evidence with intent to procure conviction for capital offencesMumbaibased Setalvad and Sreekumar were arrested within a couple of days after the Supreme Court on June 24 dismissed a petition filed by Zakia Jafri the wife of former Congress MP Ehsaan Jafri who was killed in Ahmedabad during the riots triggered by the torching of a coach of Sabarmati Express by a mob near Godhra station on February 27 2002As many as 59 passengers were charred to death in the incidentThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever