Gujarat opposes Sanjiv Bhatt's high court plea seeking relief in 1990 case

The Gujarat government today opposed the petition of suspended IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt in the Gujarat High Court, which seeks relief in a two-decade-old criminal case against him.

Justice MR Shah, who heard Bhatt's petition, asked the state to file reply by September 9. The petition accuses government of a bias and ulterior motives.

The high court, however, refused to give interim relief to Bhatt in the form of stay to proceedings in the 1990 case.

Bhatt, who took on the BJP government over its handling of 2002 communal riots in the state, has challenged the state government's decision to withdraw its petition seeking revision of a Jamnagar court's order initiating criminal proceedings against him in the 1990 case.

In 1990, when Bhatt was posted there as DySP, a person died allegedly due to police rutality during a communal flare-up in Jamkhambhliya taluka of Jamnagar. A local court initiated criminal proceedings against him and six others in this regard.

Earlier, state had filed petition in high court seeking revision of lower court's order, but recently -- after Bhatt's allegations in connection with 2002 riots -- the revision petition was withdrawn.

Today, government pleader PK Jani contended that government's earlier plea seeking revision of Khambhaliya court's order never came up for hearing, hence it cannot be restored, as sought by Bhatt.