Court rejects govt plea, hearing on Sanjiv Bhatt's bail appeal to begin

In a setback to the Gujarat government, a local court today rejected its application against arrested IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt and said it would hear his bail plea.

Following this order, hearing on the bail application of Bhatt is to begin soon.

Gujarat government had opposed the hearing on the grounds that Bhatt's revision remand application was pending.

Session Judge VK Vyas said he was of the opinion that Bhatt's bail application should be heard, even if the remand application was pending in another court.

Yesterday, the court had reserved its order on an application by the state government saying that Bhatt's bail plea cannot be heard as his revision remand application is pending.

The IPS officer had yesterday refused to compromise on a proposal from a sessions judge that if he went on remand for three hours, the court would later in the day hear his bail application.

"I cannot compromise with those goons. Whatever wrong the government wants to do I do not care. I will tolerate it," Bhatt had said in the open court.

Bhatt was arrested on September 30 in connection with an FIR filed against him by police constable KD Pant in June, for allegedly threatening him and making him sign false affidavits regarding a meeting called by Chief Minister Narendra Modi on February 27, 2002, hours after the Godhra train carnage.