Verdict on Teesta’s bail plea reserved after Supreme Court hears Sibal and Mahesh Jethmalani for two hours

After a hearing which lasted for two hours, a Supreme Court Bench comprising Justice Dipak Misra and Justice AK Goel reserved its judgment in the anticipatory bail petition filed by activist Teesta Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand (Petitioners)..Senior Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani represented the Gujarat government while Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal appeared for the Petitioners..Setalvad and Anand have been accused of misappropriating funds collected for building a “Museum of Resistance” at Gulbarg housing society in Ahmedabad where over 60 persons were killed during the Godhra riots of 2002. Gujarat High Court had denied bail to the couple and their arrest seemed imminent when Kapil Sibal mentioned the matter before Chief Justice Dattu last week, who stayed the arrest..The case was then listed before a Bench comprising Justice SJ Mukhopadhaya and Justice NV Ramana who had extended the stay. The matter was, surprisingly, shunted to Justice Dipak Misra’s Bench which heard it today..When the hearing commenced today in court room 5, the writing on the wall seemed clear as Justice Misra seemed to be totally unimpressed with the idea of curtailing the “liberty” of the Petitioners for “custodial interrogation”..Jethmalani tried to impress upon the court for the need for custodial interrogation on the ground that the Petitioners had repeatedly refused to accede to the requests of the police to supply necessary information and documents..“We have given them maximum opportunity to come for interrogation. They have taken the money in the name of victims and put it for personal use. We are asking for custodial interrogation on two grounds: (1) They have not cooperated despite repeated requests (2) They have tampered with witnesses.We asked them to provide the details of the donors and the amount of money received but they have not given it. They have given reasons for it in the affidavit which are demonstrably false. Custodial interrogation is necessary because I need to trace the money to ascertain where it has gone. How do I recover the money which was collected in the name of unfortunate riot victims.”.Meanwhile, Kapil Sibal who appeared for Teesta and Javed, took strong objection to Jethmalani’s arguments and submitted that all the requisite documents have been submitted before the High Court..“Give me one entry in the entire records which shows that I have taken a rupee or a paise out of charity fund for personal use”, he said..During the course of the hearing, Justice Misra spoke at length about liberty and its various facets and repeatedly posed questions to Jethmalani..“The question is whether liberty should be put in ventilator or allowed to stay in ICU. You want documents and they are obliged to provide the same. We will direct them to do so. You have a valid point [in that regard] Mr. Jethmalani and they are obliged to provide documents to you. But how should the Court go about an anticipatory bail plea. Can it be rejected on the ground that they have failed to provide documents or not furnished correct reasons in the affidavit?” asked Justice Misra..The Court, however, did not pronounce the judgment; instead it reserved its verdict and extended the stay on arrest of the Petitioners..Senior Advocates Dushyant Dave, Rajeev Dhawan and Huzefa Ahmadi were also present for the hearing on behalf of certain intervenors but they chose to withdraw their intervention applications..Image courtesy:.Justice Dipak Misra.Mahesh Jethmalani.Kapil Sibal