HC rejects Teesta's plea on quashing FIR in exhumation case

HC rejects Teesta's plea on quashing FIR in exhumation case

The Gujarat High court on Friday rejected the application of social activist Teesta Setalvad, seeking quashing of the FIR against her in the 2006 Pandarwada case, where bodies of post-Godhra riot victims were exhumed four years after they were buried.

Justice G B Shah hearing the case, however, granted some relief to Setalvad by quashing the summons issued by the investigating officer asking her to appear before him on 31st May for questioning.

Setalvad had approached the High Court early this month seeking quashing of the FIR against her registered in the Panchmahal district in connection with the exhumation of bodies of post-Godhra riot victims from Pandarwada and surrounding villages in Khanpur taluka from a graveyard near river Panam there.

She had also asked that the summons for 31st May, issued to her be quashed as it was based on a charge sheet filed in the case where she has been shown as an 'absconding accused'.

Setalvad had claimed that she was in regular touch with the investigating officer and was not absconding, and had sought correction in the charge sheet also.

Justice Shah rejected Setalvad's plea for quashing of the FIR after her counsel Kamini Jaiswal did not press for it.

The court however, quashed the summons issued to her for 31st May.

The court observed that by showing Setalvad as an absconding accused in the charge sheet filed in April, "a glaring mistake has been committed by investigating officer".

It also did not agree with the state government's contention that Setalvad did not cooperate with the investigation and accordingly she was shown as an absconding accused in the case.

"The respondents (state government) had miserably failed in showing a single instance from which can be said that the petitioner had not co-operated with the investigating agency," the court observed.

It asked the investigating officer in the case to rectify the mistake. According to the government, Setalvad was the main conspirator behind the incident and was not cooperating with the investigation even after obtaining anticipatory bail from a local court in Panchmahal district.

Setalvad was implicated in the case by one of her former close aides Rais Khan who was then associated with the NGO called Citizen for Justice and Peace (CJP) headed by her.

Khan has alleged that the bodies were exhumed at the instance of Setalvad.

According to the details of the case, in 2002 the district administration had buried about 28 unidentified bodies of riot victims from Pandarwada and surrounding villages of Khanpur taluka of the district in a graveyard near river Panam there.

After over four years, Rais Khan, who was then associated with CJP, and 12 others exhumed these bodies without prior permission of the government.

Following this a criminal complaint was registered, but the investigation began only last year, as the accused had obtained stay on probe from the Gujarat High Court.