New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed activist Teesta Setalvad to travel to Malaysia from August 31 to September 10 for an anti-racism conference with conditions to file an undertaking that she will return to India as scheduled and face the trial and furnish a solvent surety of Rs 10 lakh.
Setalvad was granted regular bail by apex court in July last year
Setalvad was granted regular bail by the apex court in July last year in a case of allegedly implicating innocent persons and maligning senior functionaries of the state by fabricating documents in the 2002 Godhra riots.
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Setalvad sought permission from apex court to travel to Malaysia for an anti-racism conference
Senior advicate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Setalvad, told a bench comprising Justice BR Gavai and Justice KV Viswanathan that she has filed an application before the court seeking its permission to travel to Malaysia for an anti-racism conference from August 31 to September 10 as her passport continues to be in the custody of the sessions court as per the order of the apex court.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Gujarat government, told the bench that she should be asked to file an undertaking before the court.
It was necessary to impose certain conditions on Setalvad, Solicitor General submitted before the bench
The bench took note of the submissions of Mehta and said that it was necessary to impose certain conditions on Setalvad so that her return is ensured to face the trial and directed her to file an undertaking while permitting her to travel to Malaysia and ordering for release of her passport.
“The petitioner (Setalvad) shall file an undertaking before this court that she will return to India as scheduled and face the trial,” the bench said and directed her to re-surrender her passport with the trial judge on her return from Malaysia.
The top court also directed Setalvad to furnish a solvent surety of Rs 10 lakh to the satisfaction of the sessions court.
FIR was registered against Setalvad, former IPS Sanjiv Bhatt and former DGP RB Sreekumar
The First Information Report (FIR) was registered against Setalvad, former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt and former DGP RB Sreekumar following the observation of the Supreme Court while dismissing the plea of Zakia Jafri, wife of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri who was killed during the riots, challenging the finding of the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team.
The Gujarat High Court earlier refused to grant bail to Setalvad and had directed that her passport shall continue to be in the custody of the sessions court.
