Court Orders Teesta Setalvad’s Immediate Surrender in Gujarat Riots Case; Bail Plea Denied

Ahmedabad: Gujarat High Court has issued an order for activist Teesta Setalvad to surrender immediately regarding her alleged involvement in fabricating evidence and tutoring witnesses in the 2002 Gujarat riots case. The court has also denied her bail plea, as her previous interim bail granted by the Supreme Court in September last year had protected her from arrest until now.

Furthermore, the High Court has rejected Setalvad’s lawyer’s request to stay the order in order to approach the Supreme Court.

Teesta Setalvad, along with former top cop RB Sreekumar, was arrested on charges of fabricating evidence, committing forgery, and engaging in criminal conspiracy. Setalvad had been released from Gujarat’s Sabarmati jail in September 2022 after being granted interim bail by the Supreme Court in connection with the 2002 Gujarat riots case.

The FIR filed by the Gujarat ATS stated that Teesta Setalvad had drafted false statements from witnesses and submitted them to the Nanavati Commission, which was established to investigate the riots. The FIR also alleges that Setalvad and Sreekumar conspired to abuse the legal process by fabricating false evidence and initiating false and malicious criminal proceedings against innocent individuals.