By Jose Kavi
New Delhi, Sept 2, 2022: Human rights activists have expressed relief after the Supreme Court granted interim bail to Teesta Setalvad, who has been in jail since June 25 for alleged conspiracy to “destabilize the government” after the 2002 Gujarat communal riots.
“A big relief indeed,” says Jesuit human rights activist Father Cedric Prakash, who has worked closely with Setalvad, on hearing about the apex court on September 2 granting the bail to Setalvad.
The Gujarat police arrested her June 25. The allegations against her relate to the 2002-2012 period, the court noted. “The investigation agency has had the advantage of custodian interrogation for seven days.”
Setalvad “has been languishing in jail for more than two months. The Gujarat Government has been unable to provide a shred of evidence against her to justify her incarceration,” Father Prakash told Matters India.
According to him, the interim bail order from the Chief Justice of India “is certainly a step in the right direction which sends a strong message that ultimately the cause of justice must be served and that bail and not jail should be a guiding principle in the country’s jurisprudence.”
Sister Sujata Jena, a lawyer-turned-grassroots activist based at Bhubaneswar, capital of Odisha state, welcomed the news saying, “That is great news. I was praying for it.”
The member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary says the country requires “courageous chief justices like U U Lalit.” She said she had read the chief justice’s arguments in the Setalvad case on September 1. “He made sensible arguments supporting her getting bail,” Sister Jena told Matters India.
The nun says whenever she met a crowd in the past two months she told them about Setalvad case and “pleaded everyone to support her cause by endorsing statements to release her.”
Jesuit Father Irudhaya Jothi, an activist in the northeastern India state of Tripura, welcomed the apex court decision to grant bail to Setalvad. He too says the bail brings “a ray of hope on the court and the justice system now.”
The Jesuit activist says Setalvad, who had worked for justice for the survivors of the 2002 communal violence in Gujarat, was arrested on false and exaggerated charges. Setalvad, he pointed out “stood by the aggrieved Muslim community and was on the side of Justice.”
The apex court move will energize those defending democracy in India to protect the Constitution and raise powerfully the voices of the Dalit, Adivasis and minorities who are generally victims of the organized structure these days, he told Matters India.
He expressed the hope that all those held under false charges will be granted bail.
Presentation Sister Dorothy Fernandes, national convener of the Forum of Religious for Justice and Peace, too welcomed the bail for Setalvad said it was “heartening to know that there’s no offence” in the case.
“We are hopeful that all charges against her will be removed. Similarly, we hope and pray that all those who have been wrongly accused will also get relief,” Sister Fernandes told Matters India.
The activist nun who works among the slum dwellers in Patna, eastern India, says one has to remain hopeful “in these times when things are difficult.”
The bail to Setalvad, she added, “a victory for women who advocate on behalf of those who are treated unjustly. It’s worth taking up a cause.”
She prays that more Supreme Court judges be governed by the voice of conscience.
“Now we have to become strong to get justice for another woman Bilkis Bano. I believe we will win this battle as well. More power to women,” she asserted.