Ahmedabad: In a setback to suspended IPS
officer Sanjiv Bhatt, the Gujarat High Court has rejected his
plea seeking quashing of a complaint in a 1998 custodial
torture case and directed the Porbander district court to
proceed with the criminal trial against the senior cop.
Justice M R Shah recently rejected Bhatt's application
in the 13-year-old case when he was SP of Porbander district.
Bhatt had sought quashing of the criminal complaint filed
against him.
The court also vacated the stay, granted by it in
December 2010, on conducting criminal proceedings against
Bhatt in the case.
The court has further directed the magistrate of the
Porbander court to proceed further with the trial and conclude
the same within 12 months. All those concerned with the case
have been directed by the court to coop
erate with the trial
court for early disposal of the case.
"This court is of the opinion that this is not a fit case
to exercise the powers under section 482 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure to quash and set aside the impugned
complaint and/or order passed by the learned magistrate
directing to issue process against the applicant (Bhatt)," the
HC stated in its order.
Bhatt, along with constable Vajubhai Chau, has been
charged for the offence punishable under sections 330 (causing
hurt to extort confession), 324 (causing hurt with dangerous
weapon) read with section 34 (action done by several persons
with common intent) of the Indian Penal Code on the complaint
against them by one Naran Jadav in 1998 for causing him
physical and mental torture in police custody for extracting
confession in a TADA and Arms Act case.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, January 03, 2012, 15:08