New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday, January 25, sought to know from the Gujarat Police and the Central Bureau of Investigation why they want to send activist Teesta Setalvad and her husband, Javed Anand, to jail after they have been out on anticipatory bail for more than seven years, news agency PTI reported.
A three-judge bench of Justices S.K. Kaul, A.S. Oka and B.V. Nagarathna made the remark while hearing a batch of pleas filed by Setalvad, Anand, the Gujarat Police and the CBI in connection with three first information reports (FIRs) filed against the couple over alleged embezzlement of funds raised for victims of 2002 Gujarat riots.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal and advocate Aparna Bhat, appearing for the couple, sought to highlight before the apex court that cases against them have been pending for eight years. Separately, Sibal told the court that the police is yet to file a chargesheet in the cases even after years and that the couple received bail many years ago.
At this stage, the court said, “Question is how long can you keep someone in custody. Seven years have passed since anticipatory bail was granted. You want to send her [Teesta Setalvad] back to custody?”
To this, the Gujarat police and CBI responded by seeking another four weeks of time to present before the court additional material in connection with FIRs against the couple.
One of the FIRs filed by the Ahmedabad Crime Branch in 2014 against the couple relates to allegations of cheating, breach of trust, and various offences under the Information Technology Act in connection with a matter on the construction of the ‘Museum of Resistance’ in the city’s Gulberg Housing Society.
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here
