Activist Teesta Setalvad Faces Setback After Gujarat HC Denied Regular Bail - 2002 Godhra Riots

Activist Teesta Setalvad faced a significant setback as the Gujarat High Court denied her request for regular bail in a case where she was accused of forging documents to implicate senior officials of the former Gujarat government in the 2002 Godhra riots. The decision was announced by Justice Nirzar Desai during a public hearing. Senior Advocate Thakore requested a thirty-day stay on the order, but the HC denied the request.

Setalvad was arrested the day after the Supreme Court criticized her on June 24, 2022, while dismissing Zakia Jafri's plea. Zakia Jafri, the wife of slain Congress Member of Parliament Ehsan Jafri, who was killed during the 2002 Gujarat Riots, had challenged the Gujarat High Court's 2017 order upholding the acceptance of a closure report filed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the case. The Supreme Court, in its ruling, made remarks against Setalvad and former Director General of Police Sreekumar, describing them as "disgruntled" and accusing them of knowingly spreading false information to create a sensation.

Following the Supreme Court's remarks, Setalvad was arrested by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad in Mumbai and taken to Gujarat. Sreekumar was also arrested in Gujarat. 

On July 30, 2022, an Ahmedabad sessions court denied bail to Setalvad, stating that she and the other accused seemed to have intentions to destabilize the Gujarat government and defame the state for their own hidden motives. Setalvad then filed a petition with the Gujarat High Court, which issued a notice to the SIT on August 2 and adjourned the hearing until September 19, 2022. Dissatisfied with the lengthy gap, she approached the Supreme Court, which granted her interim bail on September 2 of the same year.