NEW DELHI: Social activist Teesta Setalvad, who was told by the Gujarat High Court to surrender immediately in a criminal case related to the 2002 Gujarat riots, breathed a sigh of relief as the Supreme Court in a special Saturday night hearing stayed HCs order for one week.
A three-judge bench of Justices BR Gavai, AS Bopanna and Dipankar Datta stayed the Gujarat HC order opining that the single judge (Justice Nirzar S Desai) should have granted her some "breathing time" to surrender.
"We are not going into the merits of the matter. We are only concerned with that part of the order which rejected the petitioner's request for a stay. In ordinary circumstances, we would not have interfered. After the petitioner was arrested, this Court considered her request for interim bail...One of the factors which weighed with this Court in granting interim bail was that the petitioner was a lady and was entitled to special protection under Section 437 CrPC. Taking into consideration this fact, the learned single judge ought to have granted some time...We stay the order of the single bench for a period of one week," the court said in its order.
Justice BR Gavai, the presiding judge of the bench during the hearing questioned the "alarming urgency" adopted by the HC in asking her to surrender.
The judge said, "A person is on bail from September 2, 2022 and 10 months have passed. What is so urgency that she is not even given 7 days? Elaborate reasons were given for interim protection. We fail to under the approach of the HC. What is the alarming urgency that HC asks her to surrender immediately? We have seen in this country that after an order of house custody is passed, a full bench is constituted within hours. You are aware of the case. Even an ordinary criminal is entitled to challenge the order. When 3 judges of this court found appropriate to grant her interim protection, what would happen within 8 days?"
Additionally, Justice Dipankar Datta also a part of the bench said, "If earlier 3 judge bench has said that she should be in the dock and proceeded further, then the 3 judge bench in September would not have granted her bail. A judgement coming on a Saturday. Two judges differing on the grant of relief. If there is a difference of opinion, it should be in favour of liberty."
Earlier around 7.00 PM, the two-judge bench of Justices AS Oka and Prashant Kumar Mishra had differed on granting her "interim protection." Justice AS Oka expressed his intention to grant her protection by asking the state to place on record that no coercive action would be taken against her. However, Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra appeared “reluctant”. The judges then referred the matter to CJI DY Chandrachud, asking for constituting a three-judge bench to hear her plea.
Justice Oka was of the view that the HC should have "given some breathing time” for her to surrender and for the matter to be placed before the top court. The SC granted Teesta interim bail on September 2, 2022. Justice Oka said, “The court could have granted at least breathing time so that it could have been considered by the higher court. Heavens are not going to fall if you say that you will not take any action until Tuesday. We all are handicapped. The books have been given to us now. For 9 months she was on bail and what will happen within 72 hours? We’ll have to hear the matter fully."
Appearing for the Gujarat government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that Teesta was not even entitled to interim protection since she took the entire system for a ride. Mehta said, "I am opposing the plea with all my might," he also said.
Earlier in the day, the Gujarat HC’s single bench of Justice Nirzar S Desai rejected her regular bail application and also turned down her request for staying the operation of its order for 30 days. Teesta was arrested on June 25 by Gujarat’s Anti Terrorism Squad, hours after the top court dismissed the plea of Zakia Jafri for a probe into the larger conspiracy case behind the riots.
