SC Issues Notice to Gujarat Govt on Sanjiv Bhatt's Plea Challenging Conviction, Life Sentence

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday (August 27) issued notice to the State of Gujarat on jailed former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt’s plea challenging the Gujarat High Court’s order dismissing his appeal against the conviction and life imprisonment sentence imposed by the Jamnagar Court.

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While issuing the notice, the bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Prasanna Bhalachandra Varale also tagged the present petition along with the other pending pleas pending before the Supreme Court, reported LiveLaw.

While appearing for Bhatt, senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Devdatt Kamat said that the matter needs a hearing and agreed on the Court’s proposition that the matter can be tagged with other pending matters before it.

Thereafter, the above order was passed and notice was made returnable within four weeks.

In January this year, the Gujarat High Court had upheld the life sentence and murder conviction of Bhatt and police constable Pravinsinh Zala in a 1990 case of alleged custodial torture and death.

In June 2019, a Sessions Court in the State’s Jamnagar district sentenced Bhatt and a police constable (Pravinsinh Zala) to life imprisonment in the case after convicting them under sections 302 (murder), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (1) (punishment for offence of criminal intimidation) of IPC, reported LiveLaw.