The rejection from the high court also means that Bhatt is left with no option, but to approach the Supreme Court for relief
In a major blow to suspended IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, the Gujarat High Court on Wednesday rejected his plea for suspension of the sentence awarded to him by a Jamnagar court in connection with a custodial death case of 1990. Bhatt was then posted in the district as the additional superintendent of police.
The rejection came from the division bench of Justice Bela Trivedi and Justice AC Rao, which conducted a marathon hearing in the case. The rejection from the high court also means that Bhatt is left with no option, but to approach the Supreme Court for relief.
Notably, sessions judge DM Vyas on June 20 had convicted the former top cop, as well as a constable Pravinsinh Zala, of murder under the Indian Penal Code and pronounced the life sentence.
MORE TIME IN JAIL
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- Sessions court on June 20 convicted former top cop in custodial death case of 1990
- The court had also convicted five other police personnel in the case
- Bhatt had moved to HC against life sentence awarded by trail court
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The court had also convicted five other police personnel in the case — sub-inspectors Dipak Shah and Sailesh Pandya, and constables Pravinsinh Jadeja, Anopsinh Jethva, and Keshu Jadeja. All five persons have been sentenced to two years in prison.
Bhatt had moved to the high court against the life sentence awarded to him by the trial court. He had claimed that the order of conviction and sentence passed by the sessions court is illegal and unwarranted considering the facts and circumstances of the case. He had also contended that the sessions judge has erred by not appreciating the evidence on record and on its credibility aspects.
On the contrary, the state government contended that Bhatt is involved in several offences, and the offence of custodial death is a serious one, especially considering the fact that the lower court has convicted him for murder.
The government also contended that he had misused the bail earlier granted by the court and in the totality of the circumstances, his sentence should not be suspended.
As per the case details, Bhatt along with other police officials had detained around 150 people after a communal riot in Jamjodhpur town on October 30, 1990. One of those detainees, Prabhudas Vaishnani, died in the hospital after his release allegedly due to custodial torture. The deceased’s brother filed an FIR against Bhatt and six other police officials, accusing them of killing his brother by torturing him in custody.
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