* Activists counsel withdraws plea for quashing of FIR against her The Gujarat High Court on Friday quashed summons issued to activist Teesta Setalvad by the Panchmahals police in connection with the exhuming of a mass grave of the Panderwada riot victims in 2006. The investigating officer in the case had asked her to remain present before the police on May 31. The court took serious view of the fact that the summons was issued against Setalvad without correcting the chargesheet whereby she has been shown as an absconding accused. Setalvad had moved the HC to get the summons as well as the FIR in the case against her quashed. She has already been granted anticipatory bail by a Panchmahals district court. During the hearing of the petition before the vacation bench of Justice G B Shah,Setalvads counsel,Kamini Jaiswal,had taken a strong objection to the fact that the summons was issued without correcting the chargesheet submitted by police against other accused whereby she has been shown as an absconding accused. Jaiswal had argued that Setalvad had been in constant correspondence with the police and that she had even written them to correct the chargesheet removing reference to her name as an absconding accused. Setalvad had also made a statement that she would withdraw her prayer for the quashing of the FIR,but demanded to quash the summons. Justice Shah allowed Jaiswal the permission not to press for the quashing of the FIR. The court observed: .a glaring mistake has been committed by the Investigating Officer showing name of the petitioner as absconder in the chargesheet. and though attention of the Investigating Officer regarding the same had been drawn by the petitioner,the Investigating Officer had remained silent. It is clarified that the Investigating Officer is at liberty to rectify the above referred mistake occurred in the chargesheet and proceed further with the investigating in accordance with law, the court further observed. The case relates to exhumation of 28 unidentified bodies of the 2002 riots victims of Panderwada and surrounding villages that were buried by the concerned Nagarpalika authorities in a government wasteland near the Panam river in March 2002. According to the complaint lodged against certain persons in the case,they had exhumed the bodies without permission of the concerned authorities in December 2006. The accused were slapped with various charges under the IPC,including inciting religious feelings of people. The accused include Rais Khan,a former aide of Setalvad. At least five accused in their statements recorded under section 164 of the CrPC have said they had exhumed the graves at the behest of Setalvad.
