Supreme Court Permits Human Rights Activist Teesta Setalvad To Travel To Amsterdam For Upcoming World Premier Of Her Documentary Film ‘CycleMahesh’

On October 22, 2024 (Tuesday), the Supreme Court (SC) of India permitted Teesta Setalvad, a Human Rights Activist, to travel to Amsterdam for the upcoming world premiere of her documentary ‘CycleMahesh’. She is on bail, granted in July 2023, in the conspiracy case lodged against her for fabricating evidence in the 2002 Gujarat riots. The two-judge bench of Justice KV Viswanathan and Justice BR Gavai passed the order on the same conditions as in the August 2024 order when the same bench granted her permission to visit Malaysia to attend an anti-racism conference. The two conditions were: 

• Teesta should file an undertaking stating that she will return after the aforesaid period.
• She Should provide a solvent security of Rs. 10 Lakh and should submit the passport after returning from the conference.

During the proceedings, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal who appeared for Teesta submitted that “Teesta’s passport needed to be released for 30 days…to apply for a Schengen visa to travel to the Netherlands for 10 days from November 14-24.” He added that she received an invitation from the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam to attend the festival as Producer of the documentary film ‘CycleMahesh’. The film will have its World Premiere in the Envision Competition of the Festival. In context with this, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta who appeared for the Gujarat Government said, “I want to but I can't object. I have experience of what she has done with one State and how things have happened.”

After hearing the matter, the Supreme Court bench permitted Teesta Setalvad to travel to Amsterdam for the upcoming world premiere of her documentary film ‘CycleMahesh’.