Former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Sanjiv Bhatt has been acquitted in a 27-year-old custodial torture case after a Gujarat court found the prosecution’s evidence insufficient to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt. The court in Porbandar, led by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Mukesh Pandya, concluded that Bhatt, who was serving as the Superintendent of Police (SP) in Porbandar at the time, could not be convicted for causing grievous hurt to extract a confession from the complainant, Naran Jadav, in 1997.
Bhatt, who had been charged with Sections 330 (causing hurt to extort confession) and 324 (causing hurt with dangerous weapons) of the Indian Penal Code, was accused of torturing Jadav to extract a confession in a case related to the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) and Arms Act. Jadav claimed that he was subjected to physical and mental abuse, including electric shocks to his body, including sensitive areas. Jadav’s son was also allegedly tortured. Following these claims, an inquiry was initiated, and a case was filed against Bhatt and his colleague, Constable Vajubhai Chau, in 1998.
However, the court ruled that the prosecution failed to prove the allegations “beyond reasonable doubt.” It also pointed out that the necessary sanction to prosecute Bhatt, a public servant at the time, had not been obtained. As a result, the charges against him were dropped, and Bhatt was acquitted in this particular case.
This case forms part of a series of legal battles for Bhatt, who is currently serving a life sentence for his role in a 1990 custodial death case in Jamnagar and was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2024 for framing a Rajasthan-based lawyer in a 1996 case. Bhatt’s career has been marked by several controversies, including his involvement in the 2002 Gujarat riots case. Bhatt alleged that then Chief Minister Narendra Modi was complicit in the violence, a claim that was later debunked by a Special Investigation Team (SIT).
Bhatt’s legal troubles extend beyond the custodial torture case. In the 1990 custodial death case, Bhatt was accused of being responsible for the death of detainee Prabhudas Vaishnani during a communal riot in Jamjodhpur. Bhatt was also implicated in a separate case of alleged evidence fabrication concerning the 2002 riots, alongside activist Teesta Setalvad and former Gujarat DGP RB Sreekumar.
Despite his acquittal in the custodial torture case, Bhatt’s reputation remains controversial. The Gujarat government had dismissed him from service for “unauthorized absence” in 2015. Bhatt’s legal battles continue, as he had challenged the Gujarat High Court’s dismissal of his plea earlier in 2024, which upheld his conviction in the 1990 custodial death case. Bhatt’s complex and turbulent career remains under scrutiny, with several ongoing legal issues.
Sources By Agencies