1989 custodial death case: SC refuses to entertain plea of sacked IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt
New Delhi: The Supreme Court Wednesday refused to entertain a plea of sacked Gujarat-cadre IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt seeking to examine 11 additional witnesses in a 30-year-old custodial death case.
A vacation bench of justices Indira Banerjee and Ajay Rastogi said that a three-judge bench had already passed an order on May 24 on a similar plea and therefore it cannot entertain the petition.
Senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for the Gujarat government, said that final argument is over in the 1989 custodial death case and the trial court has reserved its verdict for June 20.
Bhatt is an accused in the case. He was posted as the additional superintendent of police in Gujarat's Jamnagar at that time.
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.
He was suspended in 2011 on charges of remaining absent from duty without permission and misuse of official vehicles, and later sacked in August 2015.
Bhatt on Tuesday moved the apex court, challenging a Gujarat High Court order which had denied his request to summon additional witnesses for examination during the trial.
The Gujarat government termed the move by Bhatt as a tactic to delay the trial.
The state government had submitted that another bench 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.
When the petition was mentioned on Tuesday, the Gujarat government 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.
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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.
