Justices, justicing and politics of justice:

The Politics of Teesta (Setalvad) Javed

Teesta carefully hides her Muslim Surname Javed and uses Setalvad to fool the Indians into believing that she is a Hindu. She is a convert to Islam but still uses her Hindu maiden name due to obvious reasons

By: V SUNDARAM

(vsundaram@newstodaynet.com)

Perhaps Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), had ‘politicised’ Judges of post-Independent decadent India in mind when he wrote: ‘My way of joking is to tell the truth’. As a former public servant belonging to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and now as a freelance journalist, I am shocked by the recent direction of the Supreme Court, ordering a probe into the alleged role of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, his Ministers, MLA’s, Civil Servants and Police Officers in the 2002 Gujarat Riots. The apex court has asked the Raghavan Committee to probe Modi’s role and submit its report in the next three months time. The decision came on a plea filed by the wife of slain ex-MP, Ehsan Jaffri and social activist Teesta Setalvad.

The character and antecedents of Teesta Setalvad, who specializes in the ‘political’ manufacture of imaginary and fraudulent evidence, have been clearly brought out by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by former CBI chief R K Raghavan, who has clearly informed the Supreme Court just about two weeks ago that Teesta and her NGO had cooked up the tales of gory killings during the riots in Gujarat in March 2002, immediately after the Godhra Massacre.

After seven years of filing lawsuit on behalf of the victims of 2002 post-Gujarat riots, social activist Teesta Setalvad received a big blow on 13 April 2009. The Special Investigation Team headed by former CBI chief R K Raghavan, told the Supreme Court that Teesta’s NGO had cooked it up and levelled false charges against the then police chief P C Pandey and witnesses were tutored to give evidence on those imaginary incidents. The SIT report also slammed the human rights groups for publicizing the incidents in its report filed before the court. The report filed by the SIT said the story of the gang rape of pregnant Muslim woman Kausar Banu by a mob was fabricated. It said the incident of the dumping of bodies into a well by rioters at Naroda Patiya never happened.The report also debunked allegations that the police botched up investigations into the killing of British nationals, who were on a visit to Gujarat. Based on Raghavan’s Report, the Supreme Court has rejected her plea to hand over the case to the CBI. The State Government have also pounced upon the fact that an affidavit submitted to the NHRC in the name of Zahira was actually signed by Teesta Setalvad.

If I have to believe newspaper reports, the Chief Justice of India is also reported to have given this testimonial, if not tribute, to Teesta Setalvad. The Supreme Court expressed its outrage over certain recent articles written by Self Styled Social activist Teesta Setalvad which appeared in a Malayalam Daily. It has been reported that Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan called her attack on the Judiciary ‘shameful’ and ‘not in good taste.’ He also asked: ‘Who is this Teesta Setalvad. Is she a spokesperson of these persons or petitioners. If she is representing these persons (Godhra accused) we do not want to hear them,’ The Chief Justice, was particularly perturbed over the allegations that hearing on post-Godhra cases were fixed in such a way that it gets adjourned. The Chief Justice of India also said ; ‘It is shameful’.

Within a few days of SIT exposing the fraud of Teesta Setalvad, on another Petition jointly filed by Ehsan Jaffri and social activist Teesta Setalvad, the Supreme Court has thought it fit to refer the matter to the SIT to investigate into the allegations made by them against Chief Minister Narendra Modi in their joint petition.
About 3 weeks ago, Kapil Sibal had warned that Narendra Modi would be arrested in a matter of days if he ever dared to politically attack the Congress Party. Anyone can see that Kapil Sibal does not believe in the democratic process. He has total faith only in the Sonia Congress brand of total subversion of our democratic process. Anyone can clearly see that Kapil Sibal would not mind using the might of his transitory Public Office to deny not only freedom of speech but also freedom after speech to Narendra Modi by putting him in prison. Chief Minister Narendra Modi has responded manfully to the menacing threat from Kapil Sibal and charged the Sonia Congress Party of hatching a conspiracy to put him behind bars. Within 3 weeks of Kapil Sibal’s open threat to Narendra Modi, the Supreme Court have also ordered the Special Investigation Team to probe into his role in the 2002 post-Godhra riots.

Addressing an election rally in Anand and Palanpur, Modi has asked the following right public question on behalf of not only the people of Gujarat who have officially elected him as Chief Minister but also on behalf of all the people of India : ‘15 days before, the Supreme Court advocate Kapil Sibal had issued a threat that if I did not stop talking against Congress, I would end up in jail. The Supreme Court order has come just after 15 days. What does all this mean?’

Asserting that he will live and die’ for Gujarat, Modi has said, ‘I don’t know what is going to be my fate but I know that I will not stop my fight against terror. After three months, I might be in jail but people of Gujarat should remember one thing that I will live for Gujarat and die for Gujarat. The Sonia Congress has been creating this ruckus in a planned and organized manner for the last seven years but has so far failed to cut ice. Let them keep me in jail for my entire life, but I will not deviate from the path of truth.’ To sum up, Modi has viewed this lurid drama as a vicious political conspiracy by the Sonia Congress Party. I fully endorse the view of this great heroic leader of the masses of India who are hoping that sooner than later he would be India’s Prime Minister. The common people of India are of the view that Narendra Modi is the only political leader in India today who is giving cubic content to the following inspiring words of Dr B R Ambedkar (1891-1956): ‘I am not soft clay, which is easily diluted in the water and loses its identity. I am like that solid stone, which is capable of changing the courses of the powerful flow of the rivers. Wherever I am and whatsoever contact I may maintain, I shall always remain solid maintaining my separate identity and never loosing my individuality.’

The recent direction given by the Supreme Court to the SIT to investigate into the role of Modi and his officers into the Post-Godhra massacre in Gujarat in 2002 also raises certain valid legal and constitutional issues relating to the overriding primacy of the sacred and inviolable democratic process under the Representation of Peoples Act. Once the democratic process has been set in motion, even the Prime Minister or the Chief Minister is not allowed by the Central Election Commission to make any new announcements of policy. In the interest of equity and natural justice and more particularly, keeping in mind a paramount need for maintaining a level playing political ground between different contending political parties, the same embargo placed on the Prime Minister’s / Chief Minister’s executive discretion during the period and process of election, should also be made applicable to the judiciary as well. Unwittingly, the Courts of Law in India should not create a situation where a political advantage accrues to one political party on the eve of a general election following one of its routine interim directions on an issue dating back to 2002 (and not 2009) to the political detriment of the other competing political parties. I earnestly hope that the Law Commission of India would take up this issue for immediate consideration and reasonable resolution in the larger interest of survival of people’s democracy in India.