Supreme Court Levies ₹3 Lakh Fine on Former IPS Officer Sanjiv Bhatt for Repetitive Petitions in Drug Planting Case
The Supreme Court, in a recent ruling, ordered former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt to pay a fine of ₹3 lakh due to his recurrent filing of petitions pertaining to a drug planting case against him i.e., Sanjiv Kumar Rajendrabhai Bhatt v. State of Gujarat
Supreme Court Levies ₹3 Lakh Fine on Former IPS Officer Sanjiv Bhatt for Repetitive Petitions in Drug Planting Case
The Supreme Court, in a recent ruling, ordered former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt to pay a fine of ₹3 lakh due to his recurrent filing of petitions pertaining to a drug planting case against him i.e., Sanjiv Kumar Rajendrabhai Bhatt v. State of Gujarat. This judgment was rendered by a bench composed of Justices Vikram Nath and Rajesh Bindal, who expressed their exasperation at Bhatt's repetitive litigations.
Consequently, they imposed financial penalties amounting to ₹1 lakh for each of the three petitions that Bhatt had lodged.
Justice Vikram Nath, while delivering the verdict, remarked, "How many times have you been to the Supreme Court? At least a dozen times? Last time Justice Gavai imposed ₹10k costs? This time 6 figures? Are you withdrawing? Justice Gavai was kind." As part of the court's directive, Bhatt was instructed to deposit these fines with the Gujarat High Court Advocates Association.
This legal proceeding transpired in the context of Bhatt's appeals against a ruling issued by the Gujarat High Court on August 24 of the same year. This High Court decision had rejected Bhatt's plea to transfer the trial court judge overseeing the drug planting case against him. Justice Samir Dave, a sole judge of the High Court, had turned down Bhatt's request for the relocation of the trial and also declined to suspend the court order or halt the trial proceedings for a month.
Bhatt's application contested the trial court's prior dismissal of three petitions related to the management of the trial proceedings governed by the Narcotics, Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act). These petitions included requests for access to trial court proceedings via videoconferencing and rectification of certain statements made by the trial court in an interim order.
Bhatt asserted that these applications were denied on the basis that they were addressed during the dismissal of his plea to change the venue of the trial court proceedings. In light of this, Bhatt voiced concerns regarding the impartiality and equity of the trial judge, contending that the judge had been accommodating the "disingenuous developments" of the prosecution, thereby compromising the defence's position and infringing upon Bhatt's rights in the NDPS case.
Additionally, the court was considering Bhatt's request for the audio and video recordings of the trial proceedings. During the hearing, Senior Advocate Devadatt Kamat, representing Bhatt, argued that Bhatt had merely sought access to these recordings, emphasizing that this request was not unlawful. Kamat also voiced objections to the High Court's assertion that Bhatt was causing delays in the trial.
Nonetheless, the Court pointed out Bhatt's frequent resort to the Supreme Court for various litigations and dismissed his petitions while imposing fines of ₹1 lakh for each of the three cases. The Court also underscored that Bhatt had access to top-tier legal representation and was capable of contributing to the welfare of Gujarat's advocates.
This case originated from the arrest of a lawyer from Rajasthan in 1996 by the Banaskantha Police, subsequent to the discovery of drugs in the advocate's hotel room in Palanpur, Rajasthan. At that time, Bhatt held the position of Superintendent of Police at Banaskantha. Subsequently, the Rajasthan Police contended that Bhatt's team had filed a false case as a means to harass the lawyer in connection with a property dispute.
Bhatt was taken into custody in September 2018 and has remained in detention since then.
In February of the same year, the Supreme Court dismissed his plea challenging a January 2023 Gujarat High Court order, which extended the deadline for completing the trial until March 31, 2023. The Supreme Court had classified his plea as frivolous and imposed a fine of ₹10,000.
Click Here For the Supreme Court's Order February 2023
Sanjiv Bhatt is renowned for his vocal criticism of the Narendra Modi-led government. Prior to his dismissal from service, he had submitted an affidavit to the Supreme Court, alleging the complicity of the Modi-led Gujarat government in the 2002 Gujarat riots. He was dismissed from service by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs in 2015 due to unauthorized absence from duty.
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