The Supreme Court has rejected the request of former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt for bail and the suspension of his life sentence in connection with the 1990 custodial death case. Bhatt is currently serving life imprisonment for his role in the death of Prabhudas Vaishnani, a man who died after being tortured while in police custody.
The court said that Bhatt will not be granted bail. However, the judges also made it clear that this decision will not affect the final outcome of his appeal or that of his co-accused. They also ordered that Bhatt’s appeal be heard more quickly.
The case dates back to 1990 when Bhatt, who was the additional superintendent of police in Gujarat’s Jamnagar, detained 133 people during a communal riot. One of the detainees, Prabhudas Vaishnani, died in a hospital after he was released from police custody. It was alleged that Vaishnani was tortured while in custody, leading to his death.
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Following the death, a complaint was filed against Bhatt and six other police officers. The case was transferred to the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for investigation. In 1995, the CID asked for permission to prosecute Bhatt, but the Gujarat government refused. The CID then filed a closure report, but the court rejected it in 1995 and decided to continue with the case.
After Bhatt gave testimony related to the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat, the state government withdrew his protection, and the Jamnagar court began framing charges against him. In June 2019, a Jamnagar sessions court sentenced Bhatt to life imprisonment, and this verdict was later upheld by the Gujarat High Court.
