E-Paper
Teesta wants accounts unfrozen
NEW DELHI: Activist Teesta Setalvad on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking directions to the Gujarat government to unfreeze the bank accounts run by her and her
NEW DELHI: Activist Teesta Setalvad on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking directions to the Gujarat government to unfreeze the bank accounts run by her and her NGO.
The Gujarat police froze the accounts in 2014 after it registered a criminal case against her for allegedly misappropriating the funds her Sabrang Trust collected for constructing a museum in the memory of those who died in Gulberg Society massacre during the 2002 post-Godhra riots.
Appearing for Setalvad, senior advocate Kapil Sibal told a bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra that the police had denied the activist access to even those bank accounts that were not related to the allegations against her.
“The account related to Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) and her personal accounts have also been frozen,” Sibal told the bench.
When Justice Misra said Setalvad should wait for the investigation to end, Sibal said: “The probe is pending for two years. But it seems not to be ending.”
The bench called for Gujarat counsel and asked him to come with a response on August 17. However, it did not issue a formal notice to the state. “If there is a violation then it has to be investigated. We will give you the liberty to file afresh when the probe is over,” Justice Misra said.
Setalvad approached the SC after the Gujarat high court rejected her petition seeking de- freezing of the accounts.
