Supreme Court issues notice in former IPS Sanjiv Bhatt’s appeal against conviction in 1990 custodial death case

The victim’s family alleged that was in police custody for nine days but after being released on bail, he had died of renal failure.

1990 custodial death case

Supreme Court: In an appeal filed by former police officer Sanjiv Bhatt’s against his conviction and life sentence in a 1990 custodial death case, the division bench of Vikram Nath and Prasanna B Varale, JJ. issued notice to the Gujarat Government, returnable in four weeks and said that the appeal will be listed with other appeals related to the case.

A communal riot broke out in 1990 after the Bharatiya Janata Party (‘BJP’) and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (‘VHP’) had called for a Bharat Bandh on 30-10-1990, to protest the arrest of Lal Krishna Advani, the then BJP chief, who had started a Rath Yatra procession to Ayodhya for the Ram Mandir issue. Sanjiv Bhatt was serving as the additional superintendent of police in Jamnagar district. He had detained nearly 133 persons under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987 (‘TADA’). Among the detained persons, Prabhudas Vaishnani died after being released from custody. His family alleged that he was subjected to custodial torture by Sanjiv Bhatt and his colleagues. It was alleged that Prabhudas Vaishnani was in police custody for nine days but after being released on bail, he had died of renal failure.

Subsequently, an FIR was registered against Sanjiv Bhatt and other officers for custodial death.

The Gujarat High Court had dismissed the Sanjiv Bhatt’s appeal against the verdict of a Jamnagar Sessions Court in the 1990 custodial death case. Thus, he filed the present appeal.

Source: Press

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