1990 custodial death case: SC dismisses ex-IPS officer’s bail plea

The Supreme Court on Tuesday denied bail to sacked IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt and also declined to suspend his sentence in connection with a 1990 custodial death case in Gujarat . The bench however directed that the appeal filed by him challenging his conviction and sentence, which is pending in the top court, be expedited.

Dismissing his petition to suspend the sentence and grant bail, a bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said, “We are not inclined to enlarge the appellant on bail.”

Justice Mehta, who wrote the judgment for the bench, said, “The observations made herein are restricted to bail and will not impact the appeals of the appellant. The prayers sought for bail is dismissed and the hearing on the appeal is expedited.”

Bhatt had moved the application in his pending appeal on which orders were reserved in February this year.

The former IPS officer had claimed that he has remained incarcerated since his arrest in September 2018 without getting bail or parole for a single day. It was his case that the court failed to consider material contradictions in the prosecution case against him and claimed an acquittal. The Gujarat high court had dismissed his appeal in January last year.

The bench had issued notice on Bhatt’s appeal in August last year and had posted it for hearing along with appeals filed by two co-accused Shaileshkumar Pandya and Pravinsingh Jadeja, who were granted protection from surrendering in March this year.

Prior to the high court judgment, a Jamnagar court had convicted Bhatt along with others for offences of murder under section 302 IPC and sentenced him to life term in prison.

The custody death case against Bhatt dates to 1990 when he was Jamnagar district’s newly appointed additional superintendent of police.

Back then in Bihar, a person who was detained for his alleged involvement in a violence-related incident, had died in a hospital after his release. His brother alleged that he was physically assaulted in jail leading to his death.

Bhatt, a 1988 batch IPS officer of Gujarat cadre, was sacked in 2015 for “unauthorised absence” from service.