Justice MR Shah refuses to recuse from hearing plea by ex-cop Sanjiv Bhatt

Supreme Court judge Justice MR Shah has informed that he would not recuse from hearing a plea filed by former Gujarat-cadre IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt.

The former IPS officer Bhatt had sought permission for producing an additional evidence before the Gujarat High Court in his appeal against conviction in a custodial death case.

In his plea, Bhatt had asked for recusal of Justice Shah from hearing the case, citing that Justice Shah had been part of the Bench that heard the matters pertaining to the former IPS, which arose from the first information report (FIR) on the basis of which Bhatt was convicted.

The Bench of Justice MR Shah and Justice CT Ravikumar had rejected the request by Bhatt for recusal of Justice Shah.

The Bench said that this was no ground for which Justice Shah should recuse, while stating that hearing on merits of the case will continue later today.

In the year 2019, a Sessions court in Jamnagar, Gujarat had convicted the ex-IPS officer in connection with a 1990 custodial death case, while sentencing him to life imprisonment.

The incident roots back to the tenure of Sanjiv Bhatt as the Assistant Superintendent of Police, Jamnagar, where he had taken over 100 persons into his custody for a riot incident in the area.

One of the rioters, who was in police custody for nine days, died of renal failure after being released on bail.

A criminal complaint was registered against Bhatt and other officers for the custodial death, and cognisance was taken by a Magistrate in 1995.

The former IPS officer was penalised with Indian Penal Code Sections of murder, causing grievous hurt, criminal intimidation and abetment.

In 2011, Justice Shah, who was then a High Court judge, had refused to set aside a trial court ruling that had rejected an application for deferment of framing of charges in the case.

Bhatt demanded in his letter to the Supreme Court recusal of Justice Shah on the grounds that the ends of justice will not meet if the present Special Leave Petition was being heard by the same judge.

Senior Advocate Devadatt Kamat, who appeared for Bhatt, had in January apprised the Supreme Court that the issue was about apprehension of bias, to which the Bench replied that a reasonable nexus has to be proved.

It is said that Bhatt is a vocal critic of the Narendra Modi government, who before his dismissal, had filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court, alleging that the Modi-led Gujarat government was complicit in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

In 2015, Sanjiv Bhatt was dismissed from service on the grounds of unauthorised absence from service.

Bhatt is also in detention in relation to a 22-year-old drug-planting case.

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