Gujarat HC dismisses plea by Sanjiv Bhatt's wife seeking reasons for withdrawal of police protection
Ahmedabad, Feb 10: The Gujarat High Court on Friday dismissed a petition filed by former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt's wife Shweta Bhatt who had sought to know the reasons for the withdrawal of the family's police protection.
Rejecting her plea in "larger public interest", Justice Nirzar Desai said if the government was asked to produce such documents, the confidentiality of the methodology of providing and withdrawing police protection will be breached.
Protection had been granted to Bhatt and his family in the past because he was a witness in a case involving the then chief minister (Narendra Modi), and "that does not stand now because you (Sanjiv Bhatt) are in jail", the court said.
Sanjiv Bhatt, who was dismissed from service in 2015, has been behind bars since his arrest in September 2018 in a case of alleged planting of drugs to frame a man. At present, he is serving life sentence in a 1990 case of custodial death.
His and his family's security was withdrawn in July 2018 after a committee, headed by Additional Chief Secretary, Home, reviewed the threat perception.
In 2019, Shweta Bhatt knocked on the doors of the High Court to get back the security cover for the family citing some incidents such as an accident involving her vehicle.
Senior advocate Anand Yagnik, appearing for Bhatt, said the petition was limited to seeking the communication which contained the reasons for which the committee recommended withdrawal.
"It is the right of the petitioner to know the grounds and reasons for which the police protection was withdrawn. There has to be a reason behind it," Yagnik argued on Friday.
Public prosecutor Mitesh Amin opposed the demand, saying the police protection of more than 60 persons including judges had been withdrawn after the same review, and Bhatt had not been singled out.
"This report (carrying reasons) is confidential," he said.
When Yagnik insisted on his demand, Justice Desai intervened, saying, "If it's a matter of discretion of the government, you can not seek those notings (of meetings). You were a witness, that's why you were given protection at that time. Now that does not stand because you are in jail."
The court further observed that at a time when police have limited manpower, "if the state is directed to assign reasons for each and every withdrawal of police protection, police will be busy with this administrative work only".
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Man booked for duping firm of Rs 6 cr by posing as Infosys CSR official
Bengaluru (PTI): An FIR has been registered against a man and his accomplices for allegedly cheating a firm of Rs 6 crore by falsely claiming to be associated with an IT company and promising to facilitate CSR funds for its projects, police said on Friday.
The crime is said to have taken place between September 1, 2025 and March 20, 2026, and after consultation with legal experts the company decided to file a complaint at the Devanahalli police station here, they said.
The FIR was registered on March 30 following a complaint by Mysore Mercantile Company, alleging that a person named Gagan N Deep approached them, posing as the Regional Head (CSR) at Infosys Ltd, they said.
According to the FIR, Deep claimed he reported to senior officials - Harsh J, Senior Regional Manager - Infrastructure, Facilities Operation, Public Relations and CSR Works, and Niladri Prasad Mishra, Senior Vice President and Head - Global Infrastructure and Climate Action.
The FIR alleged that the accused expressed interest in the activities of their associated trust, Heggunje Rajeeva Shetty Charitable Trust, Bangalore, and assured facilitation of CSR funds from Infosys Ltd.
It further stated that the accused sent a team of four to five individuals representing Infosys, including persons identified as Chethan and Tejas, to Udupi, Mangaluru and other places to verify the trust’s activities.
According to the complaint, the accused subsequently induced the complainant to pay an Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) to alleged regular vendors of Infosys as a condition for approval of CSR grants.
The complainant stated that a total amount of Rs 6 crore was paid, including Rs 1.75 crore through demand drafts in favour of Anitha Ventures and Rs 3.75 crore through demand drafts in favour of ANS Engineerings, apart from an additional cash payment of Rs 30 lakh allegedly handed over to the accused through his driver near Nandi Upachar Hotel in Devanahalli, as per his instructions.
The FIR further alleged that the accused issued a purported sanction letter dated October 21, 2025, allegedly from Infosys bearing the signature of Mishra, and executed a grant agreement dated January 8, 2026 between Infosys and the charitable trust for the construction of more than 855 houses across Karnataka with a total grant of Rs 179 crore.
Another grant agreement dated January 13, 2026 was also executed for construction of primary health care centres across the state with a total grant of Rs 178 crore, it stated.
However, the complainant later suspected that the representations made by the accused were false, the documents were fabricated, and the entire transaction was fraudulent in nature, as the accused dishonestly induced them to part with substantial amounts under the pretext of EMD for CSR grants.
"Despite repeated follow-ups neither has any grant materialised nor have the amounts been returned, and the accused is now unresponsive and deliberately avoiding communication," the FIR added.
A case has been registered under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Section 316(2) (criminal breach of trust), Section 319(2) (cheating by personation), Section 336(3) (forgery for the purpose of cheating), police said, adding that further investigation into the matter is underway.
Efforts are being made to nab the suspects in the case, they added.
