Former IPS Sanjeev Bhatt in conversation with The Hindu at his residence in Ahmedabad on 20 August 2015. , Photo credit: Vijay Soniji
The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea by former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt challenging the Gujarat High Court order setting a time limit for completion of trial in a 1996 drug seizure case.
A division bench of Justices BR Gavai and Arvind Kumar also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on Mr Bhatt for filing a “frivolous” petition.
The apex court directed Mr Bhatt to deposit the amount with the Gujarat State Legal Services Authority.
“The petitioner should have cooperated with the trial court for expeditious disposal instead of approaching this court. Grant of extension is a matter for the trial court. The petition is found to be completely frivolous and a cost of Rs.10,000/- is imposed,” the bench said.
‘No questioning of witnesses’
Senior advocate Devdutt Kamat, appearing for Mr. Bhatt, submitted that several witnesses have not yet been examined and the directions issued by the High Court would prevent the trial court from deciding the matter judiciously.
Senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for Gujarat, argued that in a criminal trial, the parties should be eager for speedy disposal of the case.
Mr Bhatt, who was dismissed from service in 2015, was the Superintendent of Police in Banaskantha district in 1996.
The district police under him had arrested Sumersinh Rajpurohit, a lawyer from Rajasthan, in 1996 claiming that he had seized drugs from a hotel room in Palanpur town where he was staying.
However, the Rajasthan Police later stated that Mr. Rajpurohit was falsely implicated by the Banaskantha Police to force him to transfer a disputed property located in Pali, Rajasthan.
Former police inspector IB Vyas had moved the Gujarat High Court in 1999, demanding a thorough probe into the matter.