Gujarat High Court judge recuses from hearing Teesta Setalvad’s plea

Justice Pardiwala had presided over the hearing in 2015 and issued notice to the state government and ordered the investigating officer to remain present.

Teesta Setalvad.

Justice J B Pardiwala of the Gujarat High Court on Thursday recused from hearing Mumbai-based activist Teesta Setalvad’s petition seeking quashing of an FIR lodged against her by Ahmedabad police in 2014.

Setalvad is facing two FIRs for tweeting “objectionable” illustrations of Hindu gods and goddesses. Although she had apologised for the tweets, two leaders of VHP from Bhavnagar and Ahmedabad lodged the complaint against her in August 2014.

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Following the FIR, Setalvad moved the High Court seeking quashing of the FIR. Justice Pardiwala had presided over the hearing in 2015 and issued notice to the state government and ordered the investigating officer to remain present. The case was assigned to another bench following change in the judge’s sittings.

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Recently, after the sittings were changed, the case came back to Justice Pardiwala. On Thursday, when the matter came up for hearing before the bench, Justice Pardiwala recused himself saying, “not before me”.

In 2015, Justice Pardiwala had denied anticipatory bail to Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand in connection with a separate FIR lodged by Ahmedabad Detection of Crime Branch for allegedly embezzling more than Rs1.51 crore funds received by their NGOs — Citizen for Justice and Peace and Sabrang Trust — for converting Gulberg Society into a “museum of resistance”.

He had termed the facts of this case as “shocking and disturbing” and stated, “the fact of the case reflects the sorry state of NGOs.”

Following this judgment, Setalvad had moved before the Supreme Court where the matter is pending.

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