The single judge bench of Justice JB Pardiwala of the Gujarat high court has stayed proceedings against IPS officer Kuldeep Sharma initiated by chief judicial magistrate (CJM) of Anand. The case pertains to a complaint filed by former deputy superintendent of police, Kirit Brahmbhatt.
The senior IPS officer has been at loggerheads with the state government over the issue of his promotion and recent transfer to New Delhi for deputation. The senior cop has challenged in the high court the criminal proceedings against him in the nine year old case lodged in Anand district. Sharma has sought quashing of proceedings and summons issued by the Anand court as well as the sanction given by the state government to prosecute him.
IH Saiyad, counsel for Sharma said, “The court has admitted our petition and has stayed the proceedings in the Anand court till the outcome of our plea in the high court. The court has also asked for all the documents related to Sharma’s case from the Anand court.”
Meanwhile, during the hearing of the case, justice Pardiwala raised a query as to why the case, which had been lodge in 2002, was pending till 2011. Sharma was not even at the spot of the crime and why a police inspector who was on the spot not named in the complaint.
According to the case details, when Sharma was inspector general of police in Ahmedabad in 2001, he had ordered arrest of deputy superintendent of police Kirit Brahmbhatt in an old case of criminal intimidation and corruption. Police had already filed a closure report in that case.
In his complaint, Brahmbhatt has said that following Sharma’s orders, a team of 20 armed policemen arrived at his residence on October 23, 2001 and illegally confined him there for over 24 hours. He was released only after orders came from the then state police chief.
Brahmbhatt moved court after the local police refused to register his FIR alleging wrongful confinement and threat by a police officer.
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