Senior advocate Devadatt Kamat, showing for Sanjiv Bhatt, had submitted that Justice Shah had handed strictures and castigated the petitioner. File
| Picture Credit score: Sushil Kumar Verma
The Supreme Courtroom on Could 10 declined a plea by sacked IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt in search of the recusal of Justice M.R. Shah from listening to his petition to submit extra proof to assist his enchantment within the Gujarat Excessive Courtroom in opposition to his conviction in a 1990 custodial dying case.
Mr. Bhatt’s lawyer on Tuesday contended that there was an inexpensive apprehension of bias as Justice Shah as a excessive court docket choose had castigated the petitioner whereas listening to his plea linked to the identical FIR.
Nevertheless, it was opposed by the counsel for the Gujarat Authorities and the complainant who known as it “discussion board purchasing” and requested why he had not objected earlier.
An apex court docket bench of Justices M.R. Shah and C.T. Ravikumar refused to just accept Mr. Bhatt’s plea for recusal.
Mr. Bhatt had filed an enchantment within the excessive court docket difficult his conviction within the case of the custodial dying of Prabhudas Vaishnani, who was caught by Jamnagar police after a communal riot.
On Tuesday, senior advocate Devadatt Kamat, showing for Mr. Bhatt, had submitted that Justice Shah had handed strictures and castigated the petitioner whereas listening to Mr. Bhatt’s petition arising out of the identical FIR as a excessive court docket choose.
“I’ve the best respect for this court docket. However justice shouldn’t solely be finished but additionally seen to be finished. Judicial propriety calls for that your lordship might not hear the matter,” Mr. Kamat had mentioned, including that the difficulty is of affordable apprehension of bias.
Senior advocate Maninder Singh, representing the Gujarat Authorities, had opposed Mr. Bhatt’s plea of recusal and mentioned there isn’t any bona fide in his submission as a number of different circumstances have been heard by Justice Shah the place no such prayer was made.
“You can’t have prayer for recusal on the bottom of selective foundation. Selective prayer for recusal would represent contempt of court docket,” Mr. Singh had mentioned.
In August 2022, Mr. Bhatt had withdrawn his plea within the apex court docket in search of suspension of his life sentence within the 30-year-old custodial dying case.
The excessive court docket had earlier refused to droop Mr. Bhatt’s sentence and noticed he had had scant respect for courts and intentionally tried to misuse the method of legislation. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in June 2019 within the case.
The case pertains to the custodial dying of Prabhudas Vaishnani, who was amongst 133 folks caught by Jamnagar police after a communal riot broke out following a bandh name in view of BJP chief L.Okay. Advani’s Rath Yatra.
Subsequently, his brother lodged an FIR accusing Mr. Bhatt, who was then posted as extra superintendent of police in Jamnagar, and 6 different policemen of torturing Vaishnani to dying in custody.
