The Supreme Court on Wednesday confirmed its February 2015 order, by which it granted anticipatory bail to civil rights activist Teesta Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand in a case registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The Bench of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra observed that significant time had passed in the matter, adding that no charge sheet had been filed in the case.
The Apex Court further noted that nothing survived in the matter, since Setalvad had been granted bail by courts in connected matters.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S.V. Raju appeared for the Gujarat government, while the activist was represented by Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal.
The Bench passed the order on an anticipatory bail petition filed by Setalvad and Anand in connection with a case related to embezzlement of funds collected for building a ‘Museum of Resistance’ at the Gulbarg Housing Society in Ahmedabad, where over 60 persons were killed during the Gujarat communal riots in 2002.
In 2015, the Apex Court had referred the matter to a larger Bench as there was no dissent among the two judges on the Bench.
The top court of the country, which had earlier stayed Setalvad’s arrest since the matter was yet to be disposed of, made the order permanent today.
The civil rights activist and her husband had moved the Apex Court after the Gujarat High Court refused to grant them anticipatory bail in the case.
In 2015, the Apex Court had asked whether liberty on one hand and fair & effective investigation on the other, made out a case for extending the benefit under Section 438 CrPC [anticipatory bail]?
(Case title: Teesta Atul Setalvad vs State of Gujarat)
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