Eleven international scholars have urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu notice of the fallout of the Zakia Jafri judgement, expunge the “derogatory” remarks contained in it, and to dismiss the cases against co-petitioner Teesta Setalvad and witness R.B. Sreekumar, who have been arrested “on the strength of these remarks”.
In June, Ms. Setalvad and Mr. Sreekumar were arrested by the Ahmedabad Crime Branch after a First Information Report (FIR) was registered against them for allegedly fabricating documents to frame innocent people in the 2002 Gujarat riots related cases.
In a statement released by non-government organisation SAHMAT, the scholars said: “We, the undersigned members of the academic community, are deeply disturbed by some of the recent judgments of the Indian Supreme Court, which have a direct bearing on the future of civil liberties and human rights in India. We wish to draw attention, in particular, to the judgment in the Zakia Jafri case, which raises three disturbing questions.”
