The Supreme Court on Monday imposed Rs 10,000 cost on former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt for filing a petition against the Gujarat High Court and for seeking extension of trial in a case related to alleged drug planting.
The Bench of Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice Aravind Kumar observed that usually, parties in a criminal case were more interested in expeditious disposal of the trial.
Terming the petition as frivolous, the Apex Court said that the grant of extension of time was a matter between the trial court and the High Court. It directed Bhatt to deposit Rs 10,000 before the Gujarat State Legal Services Authority.
Representing Bhatt, Senior Advocate Devadatt Kamat argued that the High Court had directed the trial to be completed by March 31, despite the trial judge’s estimate that a time of additional six months was required.
The Counsel said that only 16 out of 60 witnesses have been examined so far.
Kamat claimed that in view of the deadline set by the High Court, the trial court was not considering the applications filed by Bhatt, thus depriving the petitioner from the right of a fair trial.
Representing the State of Gujarat, Senior Advocate Maninder Singh contended that the present High Court order was an extension of a previous order passed in October, 2021.
He said the challenge against the previous order was rejected by the Supreme Court, adding that the petitioner had suppressed the dismissal of the first SLP in the present petition.
Singh contended that Bhatt was continuously filing applications at the trial court as he did not want the trial to conclude. He added that if Bhatt was suppressing this, he did not deserve any indulgence.
An affidavit was filed in the top court of the country In April 2011, accusing the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi of complicity in the 2002 riots.
The former IPS officer claimed to have attended a meeting convened by the then Chief Minister Modi, on February 27, 2002, when instructions were allegedly given to the State Police not to take any action against the perpetrators of violence.
However, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to probe the allegations gave clean chit to Modi. The order was upheld by the Supreme Court in June, 2022. In 2015, Bhatt was removed from the police service, on the ground of ‘unauthorised’ absence from duty.
Earlier in October 2015, the Apex Court had dismissed Bhatt’s plea for constituting an SIT for cases filed against him by the Gujarat Government.
Bhatt is currently serving life imprisonment in a custodial death case of 1990, after his conviction in July, 2019.