The Gujarat HC has sought a reply from the state government after former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, who is presently behind bars in connection with a 22-year-old narcotics case, moved the high court seeking bail. Bhatt’s bail plea in the 1996 case was rejected by a Palanpur court in Banskantha district on December 7, against which he moved the high court.
A single judge bench of Justice SH Vora has admitted the matter and issued notice to the state government directing it to file its reply in the matter by January 8. Earlier, the high court’s registry had placed Bhatt’s bail plea before Justice AY Kogje, who recused himself from hearing the matter, after which it was put up before Justice Vora’s court.
The former cop is accused of framing a Rajasthan-based lawyer Sumer Singh Rajpurohit by planting drugs in his hotel room to pressurise his relatives to vacate a property owned by a judge’s sister.
As per the case details, the state CID-crime had arrested Bhatt from his house in Ahmedabad on September 5 in connection with this drug planting case. The arrest was made after the Gujarat High Court in June directed the CID to probe the case in which Rajpurohit was booked for allegedly keeping 1.15 kg opium at a Palanpur hotel room in 1996. Bhatt was then superintendent of police of Banaskantha.
Notably, Bhatt had argued before the lower court that the investigation in the case after two decades was an abuse of law. He had also contended that he had been already interrogated in the case and he is not going to abscond as he has deep roots in the society with movable and immovable properties. However, the CID had opposed his bail plea before the lower court arguing that he was the “mastermind” of the offence.
