No Interim Relief For Teesta Setalvad In Special Sitting Of Apex Court, Case Referred To CJI After Split In Two Judge Bench

The Supreme Court in a special sitting today refused to grant any interim protection in the plea filed by Teesta Setalvad challenging today's order of the Gujarat High Court rejecting her regular bail application and directing her to surrender immediately.

A Special Bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra differed on granting interim protection and hence adjourned the matter to next week when the Court re-opens after summer vacation. The matter will now have to be placed before a Three Judge Bench to be constituted by the CJI. Accordingly, the Bench directed the registry to list the matter before the Chief Justice of India.

At the outset, Justice Oka was of the opinion that the Gujrat High Court could have granted some reasonable time for the Teesta to surrender. Appearing for the State of Gujarat, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta supported the order of the High Court, though the Bench refused to comment on the merits as none of them had gone through the impugned order of the High Court. Senior Advocate Chander Uday Singh appeared for Teesta Setalvad.

The Gujarat High Court today rejected Teesta Setalvad’s application seeking regular bail and made strong observations. The Court found that prima facie Teesta has exploited the feelings of minorities by provoking them and manipulating things. The Supreme Court on September 2, 2022, granted an interim bail to Setalvad.

She had earlier moved the Court challenging the refusal of interim relief by the Gujarat High Court in the case filed against her by Gujarat ATS alleging that she had been falsifying records in order to implicate high-ranking officials in the 2002 Gujarat Riot Case. Earlier, a Sessions Court in Ahmedabad had refused bail to Setalvad and former Director General of Police R B Sreekumar.