A court in Porbandar, Gujarat, has acquitted former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt in a 1997 custodial torture case, citing the prosecution’s failure to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt. The judgment was delivered on Saturday by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Mukesh Pandya, who ruled in favor of Bhatt, the then Superintendent of Police (SP) of Porbandar. The case involved charges under the Indian Penal Code, specifically sections related to causing grievous hurt to obtain a confession and other provisions.
It also noted that the necessary sanction to prosecute Bhatt, a public servant discharging his duties at the time, had not been obtained, further weakening the case against him.
Bhatt, who has faced multiple legal challenges, had previously been convicted in other cases. In 2019, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for his involvement in a 1990 custodial death case in Jamnagar. Additionally, in March 2024, Bhatt received a 20-year sentence in a separate case in Palanpur, where he was found guilty of planting drugs to frame a Rajasthan-based lawyer.
The case in Porbandar was based on allegations made by Jadav, who accused Bhatt and a constable, Vajubhai Chau, of torturing him to extract a confession related to a case under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) and the Arms Act. However, the court ruled that there was insufficient evidence to support the allegations, and Chau’s case was abated after his death.
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As of now, Bhatt remains incarcerated in Rajkot Central Jail, serving his sentence for the custodial death case in Jamnagar. Despite this recent acquittal, his legal battles are far from over, as he continues to face various charges in different cases.
