Bombay High Court protects Teesta Setalvad, husband from arrest till August 9
Granting temporary bail to the couple till August 10, Justice Mridula Bhatkar directed them to appear before the office of Economic Offences Wing of CBI on July 27 and 30 and on August 3 and 6 to record their statements between 12pm and 3pm.
The Bombay High Court on Friday granted interim relief to social activist Teesta Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand from being arrested in connection with a case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation for allegedly misappropriating Rs1.8 crore from abroad without mandatory approval from Centre.Granting temporary bail to the couple till August 10, Justice Mridula Bhatkar directed them to appear before the office of Economic Offences Wing of CBI on July 27 and 30 and on August 3 and 6 to record their statements between 12pm and 3pm.Teesta and Anand moved the HC after a special CBI court rejected their pre-arrest bail pleas and also refused to extend the interim relief granted to them earlier on July 17.Public Prosecutor Sandeep Shinde, appearing for CBI, argued that the offence was of a serious nature and custodial interrogation of the couple was required. However, the court refused to ask Setalvad and Anand to appear daily before the agency as they have been regularly attending their office. The court has posted their anticipatory bail petitions for final hearing on August 10.The CBI had on July 8 registered a case against Teesta and Anand alleging that her firm Sabrang Communication and Publishing Pvt Limited (SCPPL) received around $2.9 lakh in foreign donations in violation of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act.According to the agency, SCPPL was not registered under FCRA for collecting money from abroad and the amount of nearly Rs1.8 crore ($2.9 lakh) was, therefore, received in violation of the Act as the organisation needed to seek prior approval from the Union Home Ministry.