On Tuesday, the Supreme Court levied a fine of ₹3 lakh on former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt for his repeated filing of petitions in connection with a drug planting case against him [Sanjiv Kumar Rajendrabhai Bhatt vs State of Gujarat]. The bench, comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Rajesh Bindal, observed that Bhatt had persistently filed petitions and consequently imposed a penalty of ₹1 lakh for each of the three pleas filed by him.
The court has directed that the costs must be deposited with the Gujarat High Court Advocates Association. The bench was in the process of hearing the appeals of the former police officer against a ruling made by the Gujarat High Court on August 24 of this year. The ruling had dismissed his application, in which he expressed concerns regarding the impartiality of the trial court judge presiding over the drug planting case filed against him.
Justice Samir Dave, the sole presiding judge, dismissed Bhatt's plea to transfer the trial and declined to grant a stay on the order or the trial proceedings for a duration of one month. The aforementioned application was submitted to contest the trial court's ruling, which had previously dismissed three applications filed by Bhat pertaining to the management of the trial proceedings in the case filed against him under the Narcotics, Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act).
The plea was deemed 'frivolous' by the Supreme Court, which subsequently imposed a fine of ₹10,000 on Bhatt.
Bhatt has gained recognition for his outspoken criticism of the government led by Narendra Modi. Before his termination from employment, he had submitted an affidavit to the Supreme Court, accusing the Gujarat government under Modi's leadership of having a complicit role in the 2002 Gujarat riots.
In 2015, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs dismissed him from service due to unauthorized absence from duty.
TAGS: SUPREME COURT THE BENCH GUJRAT HIGH COURT DRUGS NARCOTICS NARENDRA MODI UNION MINISTRY
