In a significant development, the top Court extended the interim protection granted to activist Teesta Setalvad on Wednesday. Setalvad stands accused of fabricating evidence to implicate high government functionaries in relation to the 2002 Gujarat riots. The court also scheduled a hearing for her appeal challenging the Gujarat High Court’s decision to deny her bail.
A special bench consisting of Justices B.R. Gavai, A.S. Bopanna, and Dipankar Datta took up the matter on Wednesday and issued a notice to the Gujarat government regarding Setalvad’s plea. Furthermore, the bench ordered that the interim order remains in effect until further notice.
On July 1, the three-judge bench, after a late-night special hearing at 9:15 pm, granted interim protection to Setalvad. They also stayed the Gujarat High Court’s order, which had rejected her plea for regular bail and ordered her immediate surrender.
During Wednesday’s proceedings, Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, representing the state, requested more time, stating that he needed to translate certain documents and records related to the case.
Justice Gavai, accepting the request, assured that the court would schedule a date for the hearing to avoid any adjournments that might disrupt the schedules of three different benches, as the three judges are part of separate benches.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal inquired if the hearing could be held in August. However, Justice Gavai mentioned that the bench tentatively plans to begin hearing petitions challenging the changes made to Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, during that period.
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