PUCL welcomes SC decision on Setalvad

People's Union for Civil Liberties today welcomed the Supreme Court's decision to grant protection from arrest to social activist Teesta Setalvad and her husband till February 19 in a case of alleged embezzlement of funds.
Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand were on February 13 granted protection from arrest for six days. However, the apex court had noted that the allegations against them were "grave" and it was also not a case of quashing the FIR.
"We are confident that the Supreme Court will ensure that justice is eventually done as the judiciary is the only bulwark against abuse of power by the executive against human rights defenders," a PUCL statement said.

The case relates to alleged embezzlement of funds for a museum at Ahmedabad's Gulbarg Society that was devastated in the 2002 riots.
The statement added that the duo was not being "targeted" through false FIRs for the first time while lauding their role in getting justice for the victims of 2002 Gujarat riots.
"Incidentally Gujarat is the only state where so many victims of communal violence have got justice, thanks to the untiring efforts of human rights defenders like Teesta Setalvad, Javed Anand and others," the statement noted.
"Seen in this backdrop, the dogged and repeated demand of the Gujarat police seeking the arrest and custodial interrogation of Teesta and Javed is a matter of grave concern," it added.

PUCL further said an SC-monitored impartial enquiry may help establish the truth in this regard.