Bail for Teesta

Activist Teesta Setalvad walks free after getting interim bail but many others still languish in jail awaiting bail 

After spending more than two months in jail, activist Teesta Setalvad got interim bail from a bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice of India, UU Lalit. The day before the bail was granted, the CJI made some harsh observations which later translated into the approval of the bail plea. The CJI observed that giving a date after six weeks to the lady was not the norm and that her offense was not heinous the bail cannot be granted. Teesta after being denied bail by Ahmadabad local court moved to the Gujarat High Court, which gave her a hearing date six weeks later, something which was scorned by the CJI. Ironically, her FIR and subsequent arrest were direct fallout of Supreme Court observation which the State Government lapped up right away. Teesta had filed a plea along with Zakia Jafri challenging the probe that gave a clean chit to NarendraModi, the then chief minister of Gujarat in the killing of Ehsan Jafri a former MP in the 2002 riots. The SC not only rejected the plea but observed that Teesta just wanted to keep the ‘pot boiling for ulterior designs and those involved must be in the dock’. Teesta was arrested two days after court observation on June 24, 2022.
 It is thus a curious case, the Supreme Court, on one hand, paves the way for arrest and on the other is sympathetic with her for being a lady being denied bail for a crime that is not heinous. The irony doesn’t end here. While all this while when Teesta was struggling to get bail, 11 people convicted of gang rape and murder serving life sentences in the Bilkis Bano case were released after remission was granted by the Gujarat government. Teesta was instrumental in bringing them to the book. In fact, Bilkis Bano was given a compensation of `50 lakh. If the Supreme Court was so convinced about the crime how could Teesta be guilty of forging the documents for which she was arrested? Sadly enough putting activists behind bars on frivolous grounds has become a new normal and while the whole world knows they are not a threat to society or waging war against the state they are touted as enemies of the country. Slapping frivolous cases for political expediency has now become an established norm.  Transparency International released a list of people jailed for political motives. Kappan, a Kerala journalist arrested on his way to Hathras to report the rape and murder of a Dalit girl, tops the list. He has been slapped with UAPA, the infamous sedition law, and awaits a hearing of his bail plea for two years and counting.

Source: The Pioneer