A Porbandar court in Gujarat has acquitted former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt in a 1997 custodial torture case, citing insufficient evidence. The verdict was delivered on Sunday, December 8, by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Mukesh V Pandya, who ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case centered around the alleged custodial torture of notorious history-sheeter Naran Jadav Postariya, also known as Sudha.
Jadav, one of 22 accused in the 1994 RDX landing case on the Porbandar coast, alleged that Sanjiv Bhatt, who was then the superintendent of police in Porbandar, subjected him to brutal physical and mental torture to extract a confession. Jadav claimed he was stripped and given electric shocks on his private parts, tongue, and chest during his detention at Bhatt’s residence. However, the court noted that the evidence presented failed to substantiate these allegations and granted Bhatt the benefit of the doubt.
The trial also involved constable Vajubhai Chau, who was charged alongside Bhatt under IPC Sections 330 (causing hurt to extort a confession) and 324 (causing hurt with dangerous weapons). However, Chau was removed from the trial following his death earlier this year. The court further observed that there was no evidence suggesting the required government sanction had been obtained to prosecute the accused, both of whom were serving officials at the time.
Jadav’s allegations stemmed from July 1997, when he was transferred from Sabarmati Central Jail to Porbandar on a warrant. He reported the alleged torture to a judicial magistrate, prompting an inquiry that culminated in the registration of an FIR in 2013. Despite the protracted legal proceedings, the court concluded that the evidence was insufficient to support the charges.
Sanjiv Bhatt’s legal challenges extend beyond this case. The former IPS officer has been in custody since 2018, serving a life sentence for a 1990 custodial death case in Jamnagar. Earlier this year, he received a 20-year sentence in a separate case from 1996, involving the planting of drugs to frame a lawyer.
Additionally, Bhatt faces accusations of fabricating evidence related to the 2002 Gujarat riots, alongside activist Teesta Setalvad and former Gujarat DGP RB Sreekumar. He remains involved in appeals for his earlier convictions, including those tied to a custodial death during the communal riots in Jamjodhpur in 1990.
Bhatt rose to national prominence for his 2011 affidavit accusing then-Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi of complicity in the 2002 riots. His career saw significant fallout after this, including his suspension in 2011 and dismissal from service in 2015 for “unauthorized absence.”