SC rejects Sanjiv Bhatt's plea for recusal of judge

The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a plea by sacked IPS officer from Gujarat, Sanjiv Bhatt for recusal of a judge from hearing a matter arising out of his conviction and sentence of life term in a custodial death case.

The court found the plea as an attempt to indulge in "forum shopping" and "bench hunting".

A bench of Justices M R Shah and C T Ravikumar said the same matter was earlier taken up on a number of times, but the letter was recusal was not pressed.

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"It is nothing but an attempt on the part of the petitioner to avoid the bench, which is required to be deprecated," the bench said.

"We are of the opinion that the request of recusal is nothing but an attempt to indulge in forum shopping and bench hunting and to avoid the bench with mala fide intention," the bench added.

Senior advocate Devadatt Kamat, appearing for Bhatt, sought recusal of Justice Shah, saying in the year 2011 arising out of the same FIR, he, as the HC judge, had made stricture against the conduct of the petitioner on the delaying tactics adopted by him.

"Earlier, merely because some proceedings might have been heard by one of us before the High Court in connection with the present matter and/or proceedings and some observations might have been made against the petitioner on the delaying tactics, cannot be a ground to accede to the request made by the petitioner," the bench said.

Senior Advocate Maninder Singh, appearing on behalf of the Gujarat government as well as senior counsel A N S Nadkarni, for the original complainant vehemently opposed the plea.

Bhatt was awarded life term by a Jamnagar court after being held guilty on June 20, 2019 in a three-decade old custodial death case.

The court also dismissed a special leave petition against the HC's order related to deposition of three doctors in the case.