HC dismisses ex-IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt's appeal against conviction in 1990 custodial death case
Ahmedabad, Jan 9: The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday dismissed an appeal filed by former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Sanjiv Bhatt against his conviction in a 1990 custodial death case in which he was sentenced to life imprisonment.
A division bench of Justices Ashutosh Shastri and Sandeep Bhatt upheld the conviction of Bhatt and co-accused Pravinsinh Zala under sections 302 (murder), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.
The court also dismissed an appeal filed by the state government seeking to enhance the sentences of five other accused who were acquitted of murder but convicted under sections 323 and 506.
While Bhatt and Zala are lodged in jail, the court cancelled the bail bonds of these five accused who are out of jail.
"We have also gone through the reasoning recorded by the trial court while convicting the concerned accused persons for offences punishable under section 302 of the IPC," the division bench said while reading out the order.
"From the evidence based on record, we are of the opinion that the trial court has rightly convicted (five) accused...for offences punishable under sections 323," the judges said. The judgement was not yet available on the high court website.
The sessions court in Jamnagar had on June 20, 2019, convicted Bhatt and another police officer, Pravinsinh Zala, of murder.
On October 30, 1990, then additional superintendent of police Bhatt detained around 150 people following a communal riot in Jamjodhpur town following a 'bandh' call against the halting of BJP leader L K Advani's 'rath yatra' for the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Prabhudas Vaishnani, one of the detained persons, died in hospital after his release.
Vaishnani's brother accused Bhatt and six other police officials of torturing him in custody and causing his death.
Bhatt was arrested on September 5, 2018, in another case where he is accused of falsely implicating a man for drug possession. The trial in the case is underway.
He is also an accused in a case of alleged fabrication of evidence in connection with the 2002 Gujarat riots cases along with activist Teesta Setalvad and former Gujarat director general of police R B Sreekumar.
Earlier, Bhatt hit headlines when he filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court alleging then chief minister Narendra Modi's role in the 2002 Gujarat riots. The allegations were debunked by a special investigation team.
He was suspended from service in 2011 and sacked by the Ministry of Home Affairs in August 2015 for 'unauthorised absence'.
In the custodial death case, the Jamnagar court sentenced the other five policemen -- sub-inspectors Dipak Shah and Sailesh Pandya, and constables Pravinsih Jadeja, Anopsinh Jethva and Keshubha Jadeja -- to two years in prison.
The Supreme Court had in June 2019 refused to entertain Bhatt's plea seeking to examine 11 additional witnesses in the case.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
