Custodial Death Case: SC Rejects To Permit Ex-Cop Sanjiv Bhatt To Produce Additional Evidence Before Gujarat HC

The Supreme Court today dismissed the petition filed by the former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt seeking to produce additional evidence in a criminal appeal pending in the Gujarat High Court against his conviction & sentence in the year 1990 custodial death case.

A bench of Justices MR Shah & CT Ravikumar held that any observations by the top court on the deposition of witnesses may ultimately affect the rights of both parties in the appeal.

The apex court ordered that “However, it is observed that the High Court decide the appeal strictly in accordance with law and on merits and on re-appreciation of the entire evidence on the record considered by the trial court and without being influenced by any of the observations made by High Court in the impugned order.”

Earlier today, Justice Shah refused to reject from hearing the plea. The recusal was sought on the ground that while hearing a case arising out of some of the first information reports (FIR) as in the existing case, a High Court bench comprising Justice Shah passed strictures against Bhatt.

In 2019, the Jamnagar Sessions Court in Gujarat convicted the ex-IPS officer in connection with a 1990 custodial death case where he was sentenced to life imprisonment.

The incident took place when Bhatt served as Assistant Superintendent of Police, Jamnagar, and took over 100 persons into his custody for an incident of rioting in the area. One of them in police custody for 9 days died of renal failure after being released on bail.

Afterwards, a criminal complaint got registered against Bhatt and other officers for the custodial death, and cognizance was taken by a magistrate in the year 1995.

Bhatt got hit with charges of murder, causing grievous hurt, criminal Intimidation, and abetment under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).