Gujarat riots case: SC grants interim bail to activist Teesta Setalvad

The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail to activist Teesta Setalvad in a case related to 2002 Gujarat riots.

The apex court said it considered the matter only from the standpoint of interim bail while the Gujarat High Court would decide her bail plea independently and uninfluenced by any observations made by the supreme court.

Granting the bail, the apex court also said Setalvad would render complete cooperation in the probe, and asked her to surrender her passport.

Setalvad was arrested on June 25 for allegedly fabricating evidence to frame "innocent people" in the 2002 Gujarat riot cases. She was held on charges of criminal conspiracy, forgery and other Sections of the IPC on the basis of an FIR lodged in the DCB by Inspector Darshansinh Barad, which quotes extensively from the Court order.

The Supreme Court had on Thursday questioned the Gujarat High Court's decision to list activist Teesta Setalvad's bail plea for hearing on September 19 — almost six weeks after it issued notice, and wondered if this was the "standard practice in Gujarat" and asked the state government "what kind of material have you gathered in the last two months" against her.