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Supreme Court of India 2023-07-19 allowed

TEESTA ATUL SETALVAD vs STATE OF GUJARAT

Bench: 3 — B.R. Gavai, A.S. Bopanna, Dipankar Datta

In Brief

A human rights activist was arrested on charges of forging documents and fabricating evidence (Sections 194, 468 IPC and others) following allegations arising from a 2002 incident. The High Court rejected her bail application despite earlier interim bail granted by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court held that bail eligibility depends on: prima facie case, witness tampering risk, and flight risk—not detailed evidence examination. Since most evidence was documentary and already with investigators, and no custodial interrogation was needed, bail was warranted. Concerns about witness influence could be managed through conditional bail. The High Court's contradictory reasoning—first denying that prima facie case matters, then discussing evidence—was perverse.

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Criminal Procedure Bail Law Evidence Witness Tampering Pre-trial Custody Non-Bailable Offences

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