Former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, who is accused in an alleged custodial death case in Jamnagar has moved the Gujarat High Court after a trial court occupied with the matter rejected his plea to summon nearly 40 witnesses in the case. The list of witnesses pushed forth by Bhatt includes former director generals of police (DGPs) PP Pandey and HP Singh, and DGP (admin) TS Bisht.
Notably, the case was filed against Bhatt in Jamnagar way back in 1990. Bhatt submitted before the trial court that while the prosecution had cited over 300 witnesses in the case, only 32 of them have been examined. Therefore, he requested the court to summon around 40 witnesses for examination, including the DGPs, who are important as they were senior to him and had investigated the case. He also claimed that they had all the information regarding the case.
The state government, however, opposed Bhatt's plea before the trial court submitting that the case is three-decade-old and many of the witnesses in the case are not alive or in a position to depose before the court. It also argued that the available and important witnesses have been already examined and there is no need to examine the DGPs.
Following the government's contentions, the trial court rejected Bhatt's plea against which he has moved the high court.
Hearing likely on Tuesday
When the case was initially taken up for hearing on April 3, the court questioned the counsel for Bhatt about whether the order being challenged before the high court was an interlocutory order or a final one, and whether a criminal revision application was maintainable or not. Counsel for Bhatt sought time saying he will cite Supreme Court judgment clarifying that the revision application is maintainable and sought time till Friday.
However, Bhatt's counsel clarified to the court that he will convert the criminal revision application into a special criminal application. Now, the case is likely to be posted for further hearing before the single judge bench of Justice Sonia Gokani on Tuesday.
CASE FILE
- Sanjiv Bhatt is accused in an alleged custodial death case in Jamnagar
- The case was filed against Bhatt in way back in 1990
- Now, the case is likely to be posted for further hearing before the single judge bench of Justice Sonia Gokani on Tuesday
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 "Sanjiv Bhatt")
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