The Supreme Court on Wednesday disposed of an application filed by activist Teesta Setalvad seeking the release of her passport. The bench observed that the document, which is currently in judicial custody as a condition of her bail, cannot be returned without a specific travel itinerary and a demonstrated case for international travel.
The matter was heard by a three-judge bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta, Satish Chandra Sharma, and Alok Aradhe. During the proceedings, the bench questioned whether Setalvad had any immediate plans to travel abroad.
“Are you scheduled to go out anywhere soon? As soon as you (Setalvad) fix your itinerary, you let us know. We will not return the passport like this,” the bench told senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who was representing Setalvad.
The court further emphasized the necessity of providing concrete details before the document could be released. “You have to tell us that you have to visit this country or that country. For travelling abroad, you want your passport back. For that, you need to make out a case,” the justices observed.
In response, Sibal acknowledged that Setalvad is required to obtain court permission for any foreign travel. While disposing of the application, the bench granted Setalvad the liberty to file a fresh plea “as and when” she intends to travel abroad and has a fixed itinerary.
The release of the passport was sought in connection with a case involving the alleged fabrication of documents intended to frame innocent individuals in the aftermath of the 2002 post-Godhra riots.
On July 19, 2023, the Supreme Court had granted Setalvad regular bail, notably describing a previous Gujarat High Court order denying her relief as “perverse” and “contradictory.” At that time, the apex court ruled that custodial interrogation was unnecessary as the chargesheet had already been filed and the evidence was primarily documentary.
However, the bail was granted subject to strict conditions, including the surrender of her passport to the sessions court and a mandate to refrain from influencing witnesses.
The FIR against Setalvad, former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, and former Gujarat DGP R.B. Sreekumar was registered following observations made by the Supreme Court in its June 24, 2022, judgment in the Zakia Jafri case.
Zakia Jafri, the widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, had alleged a larger conspiracy behind the 2002 communal riots. In its 2022 verdict, the top court rejected Jafri’s petition against the Special Investigation Team (SIT) findings and remarked that some individuals had kept “the pot boiling” for “ultierior designs.” The court had stated that those involved in such “abuse of process” needed to be “in the dock.” Setalvad was arrested a day after that judgment was delivered.
