Former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, currently serving a life sentence in a separate custodial death case, has approached the Gujarat High Court challenging an order of the Jamnagar Sessions Court that directed the framing of charges against him and two other former police officials in a 1990 custodial torture complaint.
The case stems from events in November 1990, when Bhatt was posted as Additional Superintendent of Police in Jamnagar during communal riots in the Jamjodhpur area. During this period, police officials, including Bhatt, detained 132 people, one of whom — Prabhudas Vaishnani — later died allegedly due to injuries sustained in custody. Several detainees, including Mahesh Chitroda, Ravjibhai Harjibhai, and Chetan Jani, later accused Bhatt and other officers of custodial torture and assault.
In 2024, the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) at Jamjodhpur had discharged Bhatt and the other accused from the complaint filed by Chitroda, citing insufficient evidence. However, in June 2025, the Sessions Court overturned this discharge order, terming it erroneous, and remanded the matter back to the JMFC court with directions to frame charges under Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt), and 114 (abetment) of the Indian Penal Code.
Challenging this order, Bhatt filed a Criminal Revision Application before the Gujarat High Court, arguing that the Sessions Court had failed to appreciate the legal and factual aspects of the case. He maintained that the evidence did not justify the revival of charges more than three decades after the alleged incident.
During the latest hearing, Justice R.T. Vachhani of the Gujarat High Court took note of Bhatt’s plea and adjourned the matter to December 8, 2025. The court also clarified that the pendency of Bhatt’s revision application would not interfere with the execution of his existing life sentence or related proceedings under criminal procedural laws.
The case highlights the complex legal proceedings surrounding Sanjiv Bhatt, who has faced multiple criminal prosecutions since his suspension from service in 2011. While he continues to serve a life term in a separate custodial death case from the same period, the current case concerns allegations of custodial assault, raising questions about procedural fairness, the scope of revisional powers, and the implications of reopening long-pending cases.
The Gujarat High Court’s eventual decision on Bhatt’s petition will be significant in determining whether the Sessions Court was justified in directing the framing of charges decades after the alleged incident and whether the discharge granted by the lower court was legally sustainable.
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