HC grants protection to Teesta Setalvad

The Bombay high court on Tuesday directed Gujarat and Maharashtra governments to give social activist Teesta Setalvad three days' notice in case they wanted to arrest her.
 
Setalvad had sought the protection fearing arrest in connection with allegations made against her by the prime witness in the Best Bakery case, Zaheera Shaikh, that she was "pressurised" to give false evidence in the court.

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Justice Ajay Khanvilkar disposed off the anticipatory bail application of Setalvad and her associate, Rais Khan, after the Gujarat government informed the court that they had not filed an FIR against them.

Zaheera had filed an affidavit on November 3 before the Vadodara collector alleging she was forced to move to Mumbai at the behest of Setalvad, kept in wrongful confinement for nearly a month, made to sign documents and pressurised to falsely depose before a Mumbai court.

The disclosure had come as a shock to many because the Best Bakery retrial was ordered after Zaheera and her mother had alleged that they had lied in the trail court under pressure.