Activist Teesta Setalvad—accused by the prime witness in the Best Bakery case, Zaheera Shaikh, of forcing her to fabricate stories—today moved the Bombay High Court seeking anticipatory bail. The petition will come up for hearing tomorrow.Setalvad sought bail fearing a possible move by the Gujarat Police to arrest her in case Zaheera’s statements are converted into an FIR.On November 3, Zaheera made a sudden appearance in Vadodara and levelled a series of allegations against Setalvad. Zaheera, who was supposed to be in Mumbai to depose in the ongoing Bakery retrial, accused the activist of kidnapping her and pressuring her to name innocent people as accused.In 2003, when a fast-track court in Vadodara acquitted the 21 accused in the case, Zaheera (with Setalvad’s support) had approached the Supreme Court and pleaded for a retrial. Following the SC order for a retrial and transfer of the case to Maharashtra, Zaheera remained in Setalvad’s custody till some months ago.But Zaheera’s affidavit says Setalvad had forced her to come to Mumbai. She claimed she did not know English and Setalvad had taken her signatures on several papers — including the petition for retrial— under a false pretext.
