The Supreme Court on Thursday revised its earlier conditions imposed on activist Teesta Setalvad for her upcoming travel to Malaysia, easing the requirement of furnishing a Rs 10 lakh solvent surety. Setalvad, who is scheduled to attend a conference in Selangor, Malaysia from August 31 to September 10, was initially mandated to provide this surety to ensure her return to India for ongoing legal proceedings.
The modification came after Setalvad’s counsel appealed to the bench, led by Justice B.R. Gavai, citing concerns that arranging the solvent surety could be time-consuming. The bench, also comprising Justices P.K. Mishra and K.V. Viswanathan, acknowledged the absence of objection from the Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj, representing the Gujarat government, and agreed to the request.
The revised conditions now allow Setalvad to furnish the Rs 10 lakh through solvent surety, cash surety, or a fixed deposit receipt to the satisfaction of the sessions court in Bhadra, Ahmedabad. This decision reflects the court’s flexibility in accommodating the practical difficulties involved in meeting its original demands.
Justice Gavai’s bench emphasized that the revised condition aims to balance the judiciary’s assurance of Setalvad’s compliance with her trial obligations and her professional commitments abroad. In July last year, the Supreme Court had granted Setalvad regular bail in a case where she was accused of fabricating documents to implicate innocent individuals in the 2002 post-Godhra riot cases.
During the hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Setalvad, highlighted her need to travel abroad, which was initially complicated by a condition imposed last year that her passport remain in the custody of the sessions court. Upon her return from Malaysia, Setalvad is required to re-surrender her passport to the trial judge.
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The case surrounding Setalvad has been fraught with controversy, stemming from an FIR lodged against her following a Supreme Court judgment in the Zakia Jafri case, which involved allegations of a larger conspiracy during the 2002 communal riots. Jafri, widow of the slain Congress MP Ehsan Jafri who died in the riots, has been a central figure in the legal battle that has seen Setalvad facing accusations of manipulating legal processes.
