On Friday, June 24, the Supreme Court dismissed the plea of Zakia Jafri seeking to challenge the ‘clean chit’ afforded to Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi for his alleged role in widespread violence and riots, primarily against Muslims, in Gujarat in 2002.
The very next day, Teesta Setalvad, a journalist and activist and one of the petitioners in Jafri’s case, was arrested from her home in Mumbai by an Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of the Gujarat Police. Setalvad had also set up the NGO, Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) to provide legal assistance several victims of the riots.
The Supreme Court subsequently came under heavy criticism from various corners for what was seen as its role in Setalvad’s arrest.
In fact, the first information report (FIR) filed by the police quoted part of the top court’s judgement. Pertitnent among the quoted lines is the following: “As a matter of fact, all those involved in such abuse of process, need to be in the dock and proceeded with in accordance with law.”
What was Narendra Modi’s – erstwhile Gujarat chief minister – alleged role in the riots? How was Jafri’s initial complaint dealt with? How has the case proceeded over the years? And how, ultimately, did the Supreme Court’s judgment lead to the eventual arrest of Teesta Setalvad?
The Wire’s Taniya Roy tackles these questions and more in the video below.