SC extends interim protection from arrest to activist Teesta Setalvad till July 19

The Supreme Court on Wednesday extended the interim protection from arrest granted to activist Teesta Setalvad till July 19 in a case of alleged fabrication of evidence in relation to the 2002 Gujarat riots, Live Law reported.

A bench of Justices BR Gavai, AS Bopanna and Dipankar Datta extended the stay on a Gujarat High Court order asking the activist to surrender immediately.

The extension was ordered after Additional Solicitor General SV Raju sought time for the translation of the documents, according to PTI.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Setalvad, however, urged the bench to hear the matter urgently.

The court directed Setalvad as well as the Gujarat government to file any documents that they want to place on record before July 15. The interim order will remain in force till the next hearing, which is slated for July 19.

Justice Nirzar Desai of the Gujarat High Court on July 1 denied her regular bail, claiming that Setalvad had made attempts to unsettle a democratically-elected government and tarnish the image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Hours later in a special late-night hearing, Justices Gavai, Bopanna and Datta stayed the High Court order for a week. The bench said that when the Supreme Court had granted the activist interim bail on September 2, it had noted that she was...

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