HC reserves order in fund embezzlement case against activist Teesta, husband

Before reserving the order, a division bench of Justices N H Patil and A M Thipsay on Wednesday heard arguments of senior counsel Aspi Chinoy, who appeared for the couple, and Gujarat government’s lawyer Girish Kulkarni.

Terming the role of Gujarat police as that of a “super charity commissioner”, Chinoy argued that the there was no case of cheating. “Inviting donations is not an offence,” he said. Chinoy further argued that the Gujarat police’s claims of siphoning off funds was implausible as all expenses were personal. “All expenses are my personal expenses. The credit card was used for a period of four years,” Chinoy argued.

When the judges asked whether any inquiry was carried out by the charity commissioner, Chinoy replied in the negative.

On the other hand, Kulkarni argued, “A case of cheating will proceed on the footing that they promised to reconstruct houses demolished in the riots, but did not (fulfill their promise).”

According to the judges, the pertinent question was whether breach of trust, siphoning off funds — as alleged by the Gujarat police — took place in the city or not.

The Gujarat police, during the last hearing, had opposed the couple’s petition and told the court that the couple’s NGOs, Sabrang Trust and Citizen for Justice and Peace, run by Setalvad and Anand reportedly received almost Rs 4 crore as donation from foreign organisations, of which the couple transferred over Rs 1.6 crore for personal expenses between 2007 and 2014.

Teesta and Javed had said they were implicated in the case and were victims of political vendetta. They claimed that they were being targeted by the “perpetrators of the riots.”

One of the riot victims from Gulbarg housing society, which was burnt during the 2002 Godhra riots, had lodged a complaint with the Ahmedabad police against Teesta, Anand and their NGOs.

mumbai.newsline@expressindia.com