The Supreme Court of India, taking cognizance of an appeal lodged by former IPS officer, Mr. Sanjeev Bhatt, against his conviction & life sentence per a 1990 custodial death case, has recently issued a notice to the Gujarat government (returnable in four weeks) saying that the appeal will be listed with other appeals related to the case.
Why Was Ex-IPS Sanjeev Bhatt Jailed?
After a communal riot broke out in 1990 following the declaration of Bharat Bandh on 30-10-1990, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) protested against the arrest of Lal Krishna Advani, the then BJP chief, who had started a Rath Yatra procession to Ayodhya for the Ram Mandir issue. Mr. Bhatt is a 1988-batch ex-IPS officer.
IPS Sanjiv Bhatt, who was contemporarily posted as the Additional Superintendent of Police in Jamnagar district, had detained nearly 133 persons under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987 (TADA). Among the detained persons were Mr. Prabhudas Vaishnani — who died after being released from custody. His family alleged that he was subjected to custodial torture by IPS Sanjiv Bhatt and his colleagues.
Subsequently, an FIR was lodged against Sanjiv Bhatt and other officers for custodial death. The Gujarat High Court had dismissed Sanjiv Bhatt’s appeal against the verdict of a Jamnagar Sessions Court in the 1990 custodial death case, thus, he filed the present appeal.
