The Supreme Court on Wednesday expressed its unwillingness to release social activist Teesta Setalvad’s passport, insisting that when she submits an itinerary to travel abroad, her request for release of passport will be considered.
Setalvad deposited her passport with a lower court in Gujarat as part of a bail condition imposed by the Supreme Court in July 2023 while ordering her release on bail in a case of alleged fabrication of evidence in the 2002 Gujarat riots cases.
While accepting the petition, a bench of Justices Dipankar Datta, SC Sharma and Alok Aradhi said: “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.”
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal representing Setalvad said that since the passport term has to be renewed next year, the petitioner is requesting the same. He further stated that when she has to travel abroad, she needs the passport in time to process her visa and other formalities, and 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, even as it noted 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 permission from the court to travel abroad, and in these circumstances the application was submitted.
“There is no need to pass any orders,” the bench said, disposing of the application by directing, “When the petitioner wishes to travel abroad, she may file an application.”
Setalvad was granted regular bail by the Supreme Court on July 19, 2023 in a case related to alleged fabrication of documents to frame innocent people in the post-Godhra riots cases. The court even set aside the Gujarat High Court’s previous decision on July 1, 2023 denying her bail, and held that interrogation of Setalvad while in custody was unnecessary since the chargesheet was filed in the case and the evidence was largely documentary in nature.
It also directed that Setalvad will not make any attempt to tamper with evidence or influence witnesses in any way and allowed Gujarat Police to seek cancellation of bail in case of violation of these conditions.
The case against Setalvad was filed following a Supreme Court ruling on June 24, 2022 in which the court dismissed the petition filed by riot victim Zakia Jafri seeking an inquiry into the larger conspiracy behind the 2002 Gujarat riots. The Gujarat High Court had earlier dismissed the petition in October 2017. Jafri is the widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, who was among those killed during the communal riots.
Jafri was supported by Setalvad before the Gujarat High Court as well as in the Supreme Court. In its June 2022 order, the Supreme Court had questioned Jafri for “audacity” in questioning the integrity of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that 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 agenda.
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. Besides her, Gujarat Police also arrested sacked IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt and former Director General of Gujarat, RB Sreekumar.
