In 1990, following a communal riot in Jamjodhpur town, 133 individuals were detained. Subsequently, one detainee passed away in a hospital after being released from police custody, reportedly as a result of custodial torture. Out of seven policemen who faced trial in this case, two were found guilty.
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GUJARAT: The Gujarat High Court recently upheld the life imprisonment sentence of former Indian Police Service officer Sanjiv Bhatt, dismissing his appeal against the conviction in a 1990 custodial death case. This case dates back to the death of Prabhudas Madhavji Vaishnani in November 1990, which allegedly occurred due to custodial torture. At the time, Bhatt was serving as the Assistant Superintendent of Police in Jamnagar.
The incident involved the detention of approximately 133 individuals, including Vaishnani, during a Bharat Bandh for rioting. Vaishnani was held in custody for nine days and died ten days after being released on bail. The medical records attributed his death to renal failure.
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Following Vaishnani’s death, an FIR was lodged against Bhatt and several other officers, accusing them of custodial torture. The case was initially taken up by a Magistrate in 1995, but the trial was stayed until 2011 due to a stay order from the Gujarat High Court. Once the stay was vacated, the trial commenced.
In June 2019, the Sessions Court in Jamnagar district found Bhatt and police constable Pravinsinh Zala guilty and sentenced them to life imprisonment. They were convicted under sections 302 (murder), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), and 506 (1) (punishment for the offence of criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Additionally, police constables Pravinsinh Jadeja, Anopsinh Jethva, Kesubha Dolubha Jadeja, and police sub-inspectors Shailesh Pandya and Dipakkumar Bhagwandas Shah were also convicted of custodial torture under Sections 323 and 506 (1) of the IPC.
Bhatt, Zala, Shah, and Pandya challenged their conviction by moving the High Court in 2019. However, the appeal was dismissed by a bench comprising Justice Ashutosh Shastri and Justice Sandeep N. Bhatt. The bench observed that the reasoning given by the Jamnagar Court was correct, and there was no reason to interfere with the order of conviction.
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This ruling by the Gujarat High Court reinforces the accountability of law enforcement officers and underscores the judiciary’s commitment to upholding justice in cases of custodial torture and death.
