SC asks CBI, Gujarat why they want Teesta Setalvad, her husband back in jail

The Supreme Court on Wednesday questioned the CBI and the Gujarat government as to why they want to send social activist Teesta Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand back in jail after they have been out for over seven years on anticipatory bailA bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul Abhay S Oka and BV Nagarathna said Question is how long can you keep someone in custody Seven years have passed since anticipatory bail was granted You want to send her back to custodyAlso readRepublic Day Weapons seized wanted arrested as Mumbai Police conduct lsquoall out operationrsquo to enhance securityAdvocate Rajat Nair appearing for the CBI and the Gujarat government said some additional material needed to be placed before the court with regard to the cases and therefore four weeks time may be givenSenior advocate Kapil Sibal and advocate Aparna Bhat appearing for Setalvad and her husband Anand said in one of the proceedings in which the CBI has come in appeal anticipatory bail was granted following which a charge sheet was filed and after that regular bail was granted to herHe said since a regular bail was granted the appeal of the probe agency against anticipatory bail does not surviveNair said this had happened in one case but there are more than one case against her and requested the court to grant him four weeks to place additional material on recordA bench of two judges has referred this matter to a larger bench and has framed questions which need to be decided by this court Nair saidThe bench posted the matter for further hearing after four weeksSibal submitted a note to the bench pursuant to the earlier direction giving details of issues as to which of the appeals survive for consideration and what is the subject matter to be decided as the passage of time may have taken care of some aspectsThe top court was hearing a batch of pleas filed by Setalvad Anand the Gujarat police and the CBI arising out of three FIRs lodged against the coupleOn March 19 2015 the top court had referred to a larger bench the anticipatory bail plea of Setalvad and her husband in the case of alleged embezzlement of funds for a museum at Ahmedabads Gulbarg Society devastated in the 2002 riots and extended its interim order protecting them against arrestIt had said the question that arises for consideration is whether liberty on the one hand and fair and effective investigation on the other make out a case for extending the benefit under Section 438 CrPC anticipatory bailIn 2014 an FIR was registered against them with DCP Crime Branch Ahmedabad on charges of cheating breach of trust and under the IT Act in a matter related to the construction of the Museum of Resistance in the Gulbarg housing societyTeesta Setalvad and her husband who were trustees of two trusts Citizens for Justice and Peace CJP and Sabrang Trust were accused by Feroz Khan Saeed Khan Pathan of having raised a few crore of rupees as donation from certain donors from India and abroad after projecting to them the plight of the riotaffected people of Gulbarg SocietyThe top court had noted in its order of March 19 2015 that Pathan had alleged in his complaint that the couple entered into a conspiracy and promised the residents of the housing society they will build a museum in the honour of the 2002 riot victims The court had also noted that the couple had asked the residents to not sell their properties in the housing societyPathan alleged the couple neither built the museum as promised nor spent the amount for the benefit of the members of the Gulbarg Society nor did they fulfil the assurance made to the victims regarding the sale of their propertiesIn the second case the CBI has moved the apex court against grant of anticipatory bail to Setalvad and her husband in a case where they have been accused of misusing foreign fundsThe probe agency has alleged that a company floated by the coupleSabrang Communication and Publishing Pvt Ltd SCPPL had received Rs 18 crore from USbased Ford Foundation allegedly without the mandatory approval of the CentreIt has sought cancellation of their anticipatory bail claiming the Bombay high court had erred in giving them the relief after prima facie finding that provisions of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act FCRA had been violatedIn the third case the Ahmedabad police had moved the apex court against the April 5 2018 order of the Bombay High Court by which the couple was protected from arrest in an FIR registered on March 31 2018 for allegedly securing central government funds worth Rs 14 crore fraudulently for her NGO Sabrang Trust between 2010 and 2013According to the Gujarat police the funds were obtained for a project launched in some districts of Maharashtra and Gujarat to help the victims of the 2002 postGodhra riots but were misappropriated or used for other purposesThe couple has denied all the allegations made in the FIRs which are being probed by Gujarat police and the CBIThis story has been sourced from a third party 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