On Wednesday, India criticised the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) of the United Nations for its remarks regarding the detention of social activist Teesta Setalvad. India brushed off the criticism and claimed it was “totally unnecessary,” adding that it “constitutes an intervention” in the free-standing judiciary there.
OHCHR had appealed for the immediate release of social activist Setalvad and expressed concern over her arrest and detention. Arindam Bagchi, a spokesperson for the ministry of external affairs, responded to questions from the media about the comments by saying, “We have seen a comment from OHCHR suggesting legal action against Teesta Setalvad and two other persons.”
He declared that the OHCHR’s comments were totally unjustified and interfered with India’s independent legal system. According to Bagchi, authorities in India strictly follow established judicial procedures when taking legal action against lawbreakers. He declared that it was inaccurate and inappropriate to characterise such legal measures as persecution for advocacy.
Setalvad and former state director general of police RB Sreekumar were ordered to remain in police custody by an Ahmedabad court till July 2 in connection with a case of falsifying evidence to frame innocent people in relation to the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Sanjiv Bhatt, a former member of the Indian Police Service (IPS), who is currently serving a life term in prison in Palanpur in the Banaskantha district and is an accused, will be transported to Ahmedabad on a transfer warrant.
Setalvad, Sreekumar, and Bhatt are accused of abusing the legal system by planning to create evidence in an effort to falsely accuse innocent persons of a crime carrying the death penalty in connection with the riots in Gujarat in 2002.
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