Court slams Gujarat, relief for Setalvad

The Supreme Court gave a relief to social activist Teesta Setalvad and stayed all the cases against her connected with the 2002 Gujarat riots case involving the digging buried bodies. Bench has said that it was the authority that should have been prosecuted for the violation of human rights.

An apex court bench comprising of Justice Aftab Alam and Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai told Gujarat government counsel that they should read the FIR. Accused should have been on the other side i.e. state authority and it should have been prosecuted for the violation of the human rights.

We are highly dissatisfied as the case is made out against the authorities. If a holistic view is taken the FIR should have been against the authorities. The court said the entire case against Teesta is malafide.

It is noted that Gujarat govt. had filed an FIR against social activists Teesta Seetalvad alleging her for dug up the mass grave of the people killed in 2002 riots. FIR said that all was done on the behest of Teesta. The case was based on a statement mede by one man Rais khan Pathan who was working in her NGO Justice for Peace.

In the case, the Gujarat government had filed an FIR against Teesta Setalvad alleging that the mass grave of the people killed in 2002 Gujarat riots was dug up at her behest.

The entire case against Setalvad was based on a statement made by one man, Rais Khan Pathan, who was working in her NGO, Committee for Justice and Peace (CJP).

The mass grave digging case refers to an incident Dec 27, 2005, when six people, led by Rais Khan Pathan, the then field co-ordinator of the CJP, dug up 28 unclaimed bodies near the bed of the Panam river at Lunawada in Panchmahal district of Gujarat.

(With inputs from IANS)