SC notice to Guj govt on plea against conviction in custodial death case

The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought the Gujarat government's response on former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Sanjiv Bhatt's plea against his conviction in a 1990 custodial death case in which he was sentenced to life imprisonment. "Issue notice returnable in four weeks," a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Prasanna B Varale said. The court also tagged the appeal with other matters related to the case. Bhatt has moved the top court challenging the Gujarat High Court's January 9, 2024 order dismissing his appeal. The court also upheld the conviction of Bhatt and co-accused Pravinsinh Zala under Sections 302 (murder), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code. The high court had dismissed the state government's appeal seeking to enhance the sentences of five other accused who were acquitted of murder but convicted under Sections 323 and 506. While Bhatt and Zala are behind bars, the court cancelled the bail bonds of the five other .