Guj HC extends relief from arrest to Teesta till June 13

Earlier today, Justice AY Kogje, in whose court the matter was listed, recused himself from hearing it saying "not before me."

The matter was then taken up by the court of Justice Biren Vaishnav, who extended the activists' interim protection from arrest till June 13.

The court has listed the case for next hearing on June 12.

The Supreme Court had last month granted temporary relief to Setalvad and Anand, extending their interim protection from arrest and transit anticipatory bail from May 2 to May 31, granted to them by the Bombay High Court.

The apex court had said the duo will not be arrested till May 31, but before that they would have to approach the competent court in Gujarat which will decide the matter on merits.

Setalvad and Anand had moved the Gujarat High Court after a lower court rejected their anticipatory bail plea in the Rs 1.4 crore fund embezzlement case related to their NGO Sabrang Trust.

The duo had moved the plea for anticipatory bail after an FIR lodged against them on March 30 this year by complainant Raeeskhan Pathan.

Opposing the bail plea in the lower court, the Crime Branch had claimed that the couple misused the money granted to their NGO by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development between 2010 and 2013 for their "personal and political cause".

In its submission, the Crime Branch said the accused misused the funds "to pay witnesses in serious cases in Gujarat (2002 riot cases) to make false deposition."