Supreme Court Grants Teesta Setalvad Permission To Travel Abroad For Documentary Premiere

Social activist Teesta Setalvad has received permission from the Supreme Court to travel abroad. The court has allowed her to attend the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam. Setalvad will travel from November 14 to November 24 for the world premiere of her documentary Cycle Mahesh. A bench of Justices BR Gavai and K.V. Viswanathan approved her request during a hearing.

Legal Arguments Presented

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal represented Setalvad in court. He argued that the Supreme Court had previously required Setalvad to submit her passport to the Sessions Judge when granting regular bail in July 2023. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Gujarat government, did not oppose Setalvad’s application.

Conditions for Travel Imposed

The Supreme Court stated that the previous conditions imposed on Setalvad during her travel to Malaysia would also apply to this trip. Earlier, the court allowed her to visit Selangor, Malaysia, from August 31 to September 10 for an anti-racism conference. During that trip, the court required Setalvad to deposit security money of Rs 10 lakh and mandated that she would return after the trip.

Teesta Setalvad has obtained regular bail from the Supreme Court in a case involving a fake affidavit related to the Gujarat riots. On July 1, 2023, the High Court canceled her bail and ordered her to surrender. The Gujarat Police arrested her on June 25, 2022, based on an FIR from the Ahmedabad Detection of Crime Branch. The charges against Setalvad include conspiracy to falsely implicate innocent individuals in connection with the 2002 Gujarat riots.

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