On Wednesday, the Gujarat High Court issued a notification to the state government in response to a request made by social activist Teesta Setalvad. She is seeking the cancellation of a First Information Report (FIR) that was filed against her by the city crime branch. The FIR accuses her of allegedly creating false evidence in cases related to the 2002 riots.

The court presided over by Justice J C Doshi has formally served notices to both the state government and the investigating officer involved in the case. These notices are returnable on November 29. Furthermore, the court has also issued a separate notice to the government in response to Teesta Setalvad's request for interim relief to halt the ongoing trial in the case, and this notice is also returnable on the same date, November 29. Additionally, the court has instructed the investigating officer to submit a report detailing the progress made in the investigation. The petitioner, Teesta Setalvad, has been granted permission to submit additional documents as part of an affidavit.

In this case, a sessions court had previously rejected Teesta Setalvad's request to be discharged. However, the Supreme Court granted her bail in July of this year, after the Gujarat High Court had denied her relief.

Teesta Setalvad, along with two others, namely former state Director General of Police R B Sreekumar and former Indian Police Service officer Sanjiv Bhatt, were arrested by the city crime branch in June 2022. They were arrested on charges related to forgery and the alleged creation of false evidence with the intention of implicating Gujarat government officials, including the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi, in cases related to the 2002 riots.

An FIR was filed against Teesta Setalvad and the two others shortly after the Supreme Court dismissed a plea filed by Zakia Jafri. Zakia Jafri is the widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, who was killed during the 2002 riots.

Teesta Setalvad has been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including Section 468 (related to forgery for the purpose of cheating) and Section 194 (pertaining to giving or fabricating false evidence with the intent to secure a conviction for a capital offense), among others. 

The plea made by Teesta Setalvad alleged the existence of a "larger conspiracy" related to the 2002 post-Godhra riots in Gujarat, implicating the then Chief Minister, Narendra Modi. However, the court upheld the Special Investigation Team's (SIT) clearance of Narendra Modi and 63 other individuals in this matter.

In its judgment, the Supreme Court noted that the claims made by the individuals involved had been thoroughly examined by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) and found to be false. The Court further emphasized that those who engaged in this misuse of the legal process should face legal consequences and be subject to due legal proceedings.

Ehsan Jafri was one of the 68 people who lost their lives in the violence that occurred at Ahmedabad's Gulberg Society on February 28, 2002. This incident took place a day after the Godhra train burning incident, which resulted in the tragic deaths of 59 people.

The post-Godhra riots, triggered by the Godhra train burning incident, resulted in the tragic deaths of 1,044 people, with the majority of the victims being Muslims. In May 2005, the Central government provided details to the Rajya Sabha, indicating that 254 Hindus and 790 Muslims were among those who lost their lives in these riots.