1989 custodial death case: Sacked IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt moves Supreme Court
New Delhi: Sacked IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court challenging a Gujarat High Court order which had denied his request to summon certain additional witnesses for examination during the trial in a three-decade-old custodial death case.
Bhatt's plea was mentioned for urgent listing before a vacation bench of justices Indira Banerjee and Ajay Rastogi, which agreed to hear it on Wednesday.
However, Advocate Rajat Nair, appearing for the Gujarat government, termed it as delaying tactic by the former officer.
Senior advocate Salman Khurshid, appearing for Bhatt, sought urgent listing of the plea saying the trial was on and examination of these witnesses was necessary.
Nair said that the apex court has already passed an order on a similar plea challenging the high court's same order of April 16.
He said that another bench of the apex court had on May 24 directed the trial court not to delay the case any more in any manner whatsoever and not to entertain unnecessary applications delaying the decision in the case.
Nair said that the top court had directed the lower court to complete the trial positively by June 20 and Bhatt's plea is nothing but a tactic to delay the outcome of the case.
Bhatt is an accused in the 1989 custodial death case when he was posted as the additional superintendent of police in Gujarat's Jamnagar.
According to the prosecution, Bhatt had detained more than hundred persons during a communal riot there and one of the detainees had died in hospital after he was released.
Bhat was suspended in 2011 on charges of remaining absent from duty without permission and misuse of official vehicles and later sacked in August 2015.
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Noida airport to begin ops next month with IndiGo flights to Lucknow, Bengaluru
Noida (PTI): IndiGo on Thursday announced that it will start commercial flight operations from the Noida International Airport in Jewar from June 15, becoming the launch carrier for the greenfield airport in western Uttar Pradesh.
The first day flights will be to and fro Lucknow and Bengaluru, the airline said in a statement.
Noida International Airport was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 28.
IndiGo said it will be the first carrier to start commercial services from the airport, the third in the National Capital Region (NCR).
According to the airline, inaugural flights on June 15 will operate on the Lucknow-Noida-Bengaluru-Noida-Lucknow sector.
As per the announced schedule, flight 6E 2278 will depart from Lucknow at 7.05 am and arrive in Noida at 8.05 am before departing for Bengaluru at 8.35 am and landing there at 11.05 am.
The return flight, 6E 2279, will leave Bengaluru at 3.45 pm and reach Noida at 6.20 pm before departing for Lucknow at 6.55 pm and arriving there at 8 pm.
IndiGo said it will gradually introduce direct flights connecting Noida International Airport to more than 16 destinations across the country, including metro cities such as Bengaluru and Hyderabad, besides tier-2 and tier-3 cities like Amritsar, Chandigarh, Dharamsala, Jaipur, Lucknow, Navi Mumbai, Pantnagar and Srinagar.
The airline said bookings for the flights are being opened in phases through its website, mobile application and authorised travel partners.
Aloke Singh, Chief Strategy Officer of IndiGo, said the airline was pleased to announce the launch of operations from Noida International Airport.
"Strategically positioned on the Yamuna Expressway, Noida International Airport will be the new gateway for western Uttar Pradesh alongside the NCR. As we continue to expand our operations, we remain committed to delivering affordable, on-time and hassle-free travel experiences," Singh said.
IndiGo said the airport is expected to emerge as a major domestic aviation hub and will strengthen connectivity between Delhi-NCR and western Uttar Pradesh through integrated road and rail infrastructure.
