Teesta Setalvad is preparing for the Zakia Jafri case, after being granted anticipatory bail by the High Court. In an exclusive interview to Hille Le she talks about the case and being hounded by authorities.
As the secretary and chief functionary of Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), Teesta Setalvad has been vigorously fighting cases stemming from the 2002 Godhra riots. She has six cases filed against her by the Gujarat government and, most recently, an FIR was filed against her by the CBI.
After the Supreme Court gave her an anticipatory bail, the Bombay High Court on July 24 extended her interim relief asking CBI why they still needed her under custody. Now, she is preparing to continue to fight Zakia Jafri's case. In an exclusive interview to Hille Le she talks about the case and being hounded by authorities.
The case was reported to her organisation on June 8, 2006. Zakia was bullied by the police after her husband was brutally killed during the riots. In an interview with Hille Le, she says she hopes for the criminal revision petition filed in the High Court is able to do justice to the Gujarat riots case. "I would say that if Godhra had happened anywhere in our country, there would be three or four reprisal attacks undoubtedly. But what was the role that the administration should have played? Was there a clear cut appeal for calm, for peace, for no revenge, for no baying for blood? That’s all we are asking and we have built up a case around that," she told Hille Le.
She will challenge the Order of Magistrate Ganatra in the High Court asking why the protest petition was rejected. "In any system but particularly the Indian one, it is not easy for survivor witnesses to, on their own, access and navigate the criminal justice system. CJP has played the historic role of substantive legal aid for survivors, ensuring that the integrity of their eye-witness testimonies bear the test of legal scrutiny," she said in the Hille Le interview.
With her trust office and residences raided by CBI, Teesta believes these actions were being taken under directions from the PMO. Although, they were prepared to cooperate with CBI for investigations, Teesta said attempts were being made to intimidate witnesses. "We believe that the utterly vindictive action of the CBI in raiding/searching our offices and home (when we had offered to fully cooperate) comes from direct orders from the PMO. It is an abuse of due process. It is a bid to intimidate. What, I wonder, are they afraid of? If on the one hand they are clear about the fact that they have got a “clean chit” for their role in 2002, why are they somehow browbeating us to prevent real evidence being led, again, in the Zakia Jafri revision application, in the public domain? Are they insecure?" she questions in the interview.
Teesta believes the media played a significant role in the failure of justice. "Large sections of the media, especially electronic, changed after 2007, and in fact played an aggressively facilitatory role to enable the victory of the present regime. Part of this unprofessional package has been to repeatedly carry one-sided news against us, not even trying to be balanced. In fact, the political class has been more honest than the media" she said.
While Teesta says she cannot predict the outcome of the case, she says she is want to fight with honesty and integrity in bringing justice. "Our system has been tested. But the pathbreaking landmarks that CJP has so far achieved have been thanks to the independence of our Judiciary. It is a crucial pillar of our democracy" she said.
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