The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected activist Teesta Setalvad’s application for her passport, saying she may file a fresh petition after submitting her itinerary to travel abroad.
Setalvad’s passport was deposited in the Gujarat Trial Court as a bail condition imposed by the Supreme Court in July 2023 in a case of alleged fabrication of documents in the 2002 Gujarat riots cases.
“We will not allow your passport to be returned in this way. You can share your itinerary. To get the passport, you have to file a case,” a bench of Justices Dipankar Datta, SC Sharma and Alok Aradhye said.
Senior lawyer Kapil Sibal, who appeared in Setalvad, said she requested her passport as it needs to be renewed next year. He further stated that when she needs to travel abroad, she needs the passport in time to process her visa and other formalities. Since time is limited, getting a hearing on her application is a challenge.
“Since this is a matter of fundamental rights (to travel abroad), we will certainly not delay,” the bench said, noting the speed with which the three-judge bench was constituted to hear the current application.
Regarding renewal, the court confirmed that “if the matter comes to renewal, we will direct it and ensure that the authorities renew it.”
Sibal noted that even if she obtained her passport, she would still need court permission to travel abroad, and the application was submitted in these circumstances.
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“There is no need to pass any orders,” the bench said, disposing of the application with the direction, “When the petitioner wishes to travel abroad, she may file an application.”
On July 19, 2023, the High Court granted regular bail to Setalvad in the case related to alleged fabrication of documents to frame innocent persons in the post-Godhra riots cases.
After setting aside the Gujarat High Court’s July 1, 2023 order, the three-judge bench said that interrogation of Setalvad in custody was unnecessary since the chargesheet was filed in the case and the evidence was largely documentary.
She directed that her passport, which had already been surrendered, remain in the custody of the court, and that she must not attempt to tamper with evidence or influence witnesses. It also allowed the Gujarat Police to seek cancellation of bail in case of violation of these conditions.
The case against Setalvad was filed following the Supreme Court’s ruling on June 24, 2022, in relation to the appeal filed by riot victim Zakia Jafri demanding an investigation into the larger conspiracy behind the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Jafri had appealed the Supreme Court’s October 2017 order dismissing her petition against the findings of the Special Investigation Team appointed by the Supreme Court.
Jafri is the widow of former Congress Party MP Ehsan Jafri, who was among those killed during the communal riots.
Jafri was supported by Setalvad before the High Court and Supreme Court.
In June 2022, the Supreme Court questioned Jafri for his “audacity” to question the integrity of the Special Investigation Team, which investigated the riot cases under the watch of the Supreme Court, and every employee involved in the operation with the aim of “keeping the pot boiling” for an apparent hidden plot.
She even suggested that “all those involved in abuse of process should be in the dock and tried in accordance with the law.” After this ruling, the state government filed a case against Setalvad and arrested her. The Gujarat Police also arrested former IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt and former Director General of Gujarat, RB Sreekumar.
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