The court, however, made it clear that it is the last opportunity for the duo to cooperate in the probe and the state government will be at the liberty to seek cancellation of the bail, if the duo does not cooperate
The Gujarat High Court on Friday granted anticipatory bail to social activists Teesta Setalvad and Javed Anand in connection with a Rs 1.4 crore fund embezzlement case which is being probed by the Ahmedabad Crime Branch. The court, however, made it clear that it is the last opportunity for the duo to cooperate in the probe and the state government will be at the liberty to seek cancellation of the bail, if the duo does not cooperate.HC directed the couple to appear before the investigation officer on February 15.
The single judge bench of Justice JB Pardiwala also clarified that the anticipatory bail should not come in the way of the investigation officer to seek police remand of the duo if custodial interrogation is required. Notably, the crime branch is probing the role of the duo in the alleged misuse of Rs 1.4 crore obtained from the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) by Setalvad's Sabrang Trust under an education scheme between 2010 and 2013. A former employee of the trust had registered the FIR against the couple alleging that the latter had utilised the amount obtained from MHRD for personal expenses.
Justice Pardiwala, in the 56-page judgment, has rejected all the submissions made by the duo's lawyer Mihir Thakore. The court has remarked that it was inclined to reject the plea of the duo only on the grounds of their criminal antecedents. However, despite all odds, it is inclined to give one last chance to the accused to join and cooperate in the investigation.
Citing a Supreme Court judgment that provides that individual liberty has to be respected and simultaneously the investigation has to take its course, the court clarified that it is providing anticipatory bail to the duo as the "…FIR is something which transpired about five to seven years back and an exhaustive investigation will have to be undertaken having regard to the allegations on record".
Interestingly, the counsel for the couple had contended that Raees Khan, who registered the FIR, was a disgruntled employee and the prosecution instituted against the applicants is politically motivated and tainted with mala fide. It was also contended that the entire prosecution is based on documentary evidence and the relevant documents have been already handed over to the investigation officer. The couple also argued that there was no need for a custodial interrogation and all the transactions based on which the FIR was registered took place within Maharashtra.
On the contrary, the state had contended that the couple had not cooperated in the investigation from the beginning and merely handing over a bunch of documents cannot be said as cooperating in the investigation. While clarifying on the couple's criminal antecedents, the state contended that custodial interrogation is required to probe several aspects of the matter.
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