Supreme Court rejects bail plea by sacked IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt in 1990 custodial death case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea for bail and suspension of the sentence of life term imposed upon a sacked Gujarat cadre IPS officer, Sanjiv Bhatt in a 1990 custodial death case.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta rejected the plea by Bhatt, a critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and directed for expediting hearing on his appeal.

"Prayer for grant of bail is dismissed and hearing on appeal is expedited," Justice Mehta said, pronouncing the order.

The Gujarat High Court had in 2024 upheld the Jamnagar Court's decision, finding no grounds for interference in the conviction.

In June 2019, a Sessions Court in Jamnagar sentenced Bhatt and police constable Pravinsinh Zala to life imprisonment, finding them guilty under sections 302 (murder), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), and 506(1) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Other officers involved received convictions under lesser charges.

The matter related to the custodial death of Prabhudas Madhavji Vaishnani, who was allegedly tortured while in police custody during his tenure as the Assistant Superintendent of Police in Jamnagar.

Vaishnani was among 133 individuals detained during a Bharat Bandh in November 1990 called due to the arrest of senior BJP leader L K Advani in Bihar during his 'Rath Yatra'. He died days after being released on bail, with renal failure cited as the cause of death.

Bhatt, who was given charge of Additional SP, Jamnagar, claimed the present incident related to the death of Prabhudas Vaishnani happened 18 days after his release from police custody on November 18, 1990.

The officer had earlier filed an affidavit against Narendra Modi concerning his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots. His wife Shweta had in 2012 contested Gujarat Assembly polls in Maninagar seat against Modi on a Congress ticket.