The Gujarat High Court has expressed initial reluctance to quash the FIR filed against prominent activist Teesta Setalvad. The FIR, stemming from the 2006 Pandarwada mass grave digging incident in Mahisagar district, accuses Setalvad of exhuming bodies of 2002 Gujarat riot victims, purportedly for sensationalizing the issue in the media.
Setalvad is facing charges in the 2006 FIR, including fabricating false evidence, causing the disappearance of evidence, criminal conspiracy, and committing deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings.
This case has become pivotal in the Ahmedabad Detection of Crime Branch's 2022 FIR, which argues that Setalvad has a history of fabricating evidence related to the Gujarat riots.
During Monday's proceedings, Justice Sandeep Bhatt, addressing Setalvad's counsel, questioned the necessity of revisiting what he metaphorically referred to as "dead horses." The court has set the next hearing for January 9, where further deliberations on the case are expected.
Teesta Setalvad was previously arrested in June 2022 by Gujarat's Anti-Terrorism Squad following the Supreme Court's dismissal of a plea by Zakia Jafri concerning the 2002 riots. She was subsequently granted bail in July 2023.