AHMEDABAD: A sessions court of Ahmedabad rejected activist Teesta Setalvad's discharge petition in a case involving alleged evidence fabrication in the 2002 Gujarat riots on Thursday. Setalvad will now face trial in the evidence falsification case.
The court has rejected Setalvad's argument that there is no evidence to connect her with alleged offences registered in the case, the court has found the substantial reason for the trial of the case, and the court also asked the prosecution and defence to “open the case” (start trial proceedings) from July 24.
Setalvad requested a discharge from the case, disputing the legality of the sections used against her and questioning the evidence. Setalvad's plea was rejected by Additional Sessions Judge A R Patel. The Gujarat administration had objected to her application, claiming that she had betrayed the trust of riot victims and implicated innocent people.
The decision to reject her discharge petition came a day after a Supreme Court overturned a Gujarat High Court judgment that had denied Setalvad bail. On 12th July Setalvad's lawyer pointed out contradictions in the statements of witnesses recorded by the investigators of this case.
However, Public prosecutors claimed that there is sufficient evidence against the defendants to hold a trial. They relied on witness accounts, emphasizing the attempt at conspiracy to frame innocent individuals, discredit the then-chief minister, and upset the state government after taking Rs 30 lakh from Congress leader Ahmed Patel. Earlier, the court rejected a discharge plea filed by the co-accused in this case, former DGP R B Sreekumar.
Setalvad and two others, former DGP RB Sreekumar and ex-IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt were arrested in June last year by the city crime branch on charges of forgery and fabricating false evidence in connection with the 2002 riots cases.