Gujarat HC judge recuses himself from hearing Teesta Setalvad's plea seeking quashing of FIR
Ahmedabad, Aug 3: Justice Samir Dave of the Gujarat High Court on Thursday recused himself from hearing a plea filed by social activist Teesta Setalvad seeking quashing of an FIR filed against her by the Ahmedabad crime branch for allegedly fabricating evidence in the 2002 riots cases.
When the matter came up for hearing, Justice Dave said, "Not before me."
Now, the chief justice of the high court will allot the case to a new judge.
Last month, a sessions court had rejected Setalvad's discharge plea in the case, even as the Supreme Court granted her bail after the Gujarat High Court denied relief to her.
She then moved a plea seeking quashing of the FIR in the Gujarat High Court.
Setalvad and two others - former state Director General of Police R B Sreekumar and former Indian Police Service officer Sanjiv Bhatt - were arrested by the city crime branch in June 2022 on charges of forgery and fabricating evidence with the intent to implicate the Gujarat government functionaries in the 2002 riots cases.
A first information report (FIR) was registered against them after the Supreme Court last month dismissed the plea filed by Zakia Jafri, whose husband and former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri was killed during the riots.
Setalvad was booked under sections 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 194 (giving or fabricating false evidence with intent to procure conviction for capital offence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), among others.
The state government, during a hearing in the sessions court earlier, had alleged that Setalvad drafted affidavits in the names of victims to implicate innocent persons including the then chief minister (now Prime Minister Narendra Modi), senior officers, and ministers.
Zakia Jafri's plea alleged a "larger conspiracy" behind the 2002 post-Godhra riots in Gujarat involving the then chief minister Narendra Modi. The court upheld the SIT's clean chit to Modi and 63 others.
In its judgment, the Supreme Court observed, "At the end of the day, it appears to us that a coalesced effort of the disgruntled officials of the State of Gujarat along with others was to create sensation by making revelations which were false to their own knowledge."
"The falsity of their claims had been fully exposed by the SIT after a thorough investigation...As a matter of fact, all those involved in such abuse of process need to be in the dock and proceed in accordance with law."
Ehsan Jafri was among the 68 people killed at Ahmedabad's Gulberg Society during violence on February 28, 2002, a day after the Godhra train burning that claimed 59 lives.
The riots that it triggered killed 1,044 people, mostly Muslims. Giving details, the Central government informed the Rajya Sabha in May 2005 that 254 Hindus and 790 Muslims were killed in the post-Godhra riots.
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AAP alleges 'deep-rooted' conspiracy to kill Kejriwal, BJP terms it 'drama'
New Delhi, Oct 26: The AAP on Saturday alleged the BJP was conspiring to "kill" its convener Arvind Kejriwal and had become "an enemy of his life". The ruling party warned that the BJP would be responsible if anything happened to the former chief minister.
Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta dismissed the AAP's allegations, saying it was yet another "drama" by the AAP to defame the BJP ahead of the assembly polls.
The AAP had on Friday claimed that Kejriwal, a Z-plus protectee, was attacked by "BJP goons" during his 'padyatra' (foot march) in west Delhi's Vikaspuri, a charge trashed by the saffron party.
However, no video of the alleged attack was made available by the party. Police said they had not received any official complaint from the AAP.
Addressing a press conference on Saturday, AAP MP Sanjay Singh alleged police were complicit in the incident.
"Police complicity in the incident clearly shows a deep-rooted conspiracy to kill Kejriwal. The BJP has become an enemy of his life," he said.
There was no immediate response from police to the Rajya Sabha MP's claim.
Singh said that despite Friday's incident, Kejriwal would carry on with the 'padyatra' as scheduled.
AAP leaders including Kejriwal are undertaking 'padyatras' in different assembly segments of the city in the run-up to the Delhi Assembly polls, likely to be held in February 2025.
Asked why the AAP had not filed a complaint regarding the alleged attack on Kejriwal, Singh said police could take cognisance of the incident and launch a probe.
It would not have happened if police were impartial. Police officers did not do anything to stop the "attackers" who belonged to the BJP's youth wing, he claimed, adding the AAP was seeking legal opinion on the matter.
He also accused BJP leaders of supporting the "attackers".
Singh said Kejriwal would "neither stop nor bow down" and continue to fight for the people of Delhi.
If anything happens to Kejriwal, then the BJP would be responsible for it. Even if Kejriwal suffers a scratch, Delhi's people would take revenge on the BJP, he said.
At another press conference, Delhi cabinet minister Saurabh Bharadwaj claimed one of the attackers was the vice president of the BJP's Delhi Yuva Morcha.
"BJP Yuva Morcha functionaries attacked Kejriwal. One of the attackers is the vice president of BJP Yuva Morcha of Delhi and the second is the general secretary," he said.
The two BJP leaders, who were dancing after attacking Kejriwal, had lost the councillor elections, claimed Bharadwaj.
BJP leader Gupta rubbished the AAP's claims.
"Despite blaming the BJP, no complaint has been filed by the AAP over the alleged attack on Kejriwal, which shows that the party is trying to play the victim card and gain sympathy by trying to defame the BJP before the assembly polls," he said.
The BJP leader said the AAP is worried about the "waning public support" and is attempting to confuse people through such tactics.
The area where Kejriwal was allegedly attacked is not an AAP stronghold and hence, the party "concocted" the story to gain sympathy, Gupta alleged.
