Ahmedabad, Oct 4: Suspended Gujarat IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt today rejected a local court's suggestion to get his lockers searched if he wanted to be out on bail by this evening. Principal District Sessions Judge G N Patel then reserved the order on Gujarat government's remand revision application of arrested IPS officer for October 7.
The state government had yesterday challenged in the sessions court here, a magisterial court order denying remand of Bhatt, arrested for allegedly threatening and forcing a constable to sign a false affidavit.
During the hearing Bhatt's lawyer I H Sayed contended that the revision remand application of the state government was not maintainable in law. He cited Supreme Court judgement which said that granting or rejecting of bail was an interlocutory order and there cannot be revision of that order as per section 397(2) of the CrPC.Sayed said in view of the apex court judgement, the government application is not maintainable and should be rejected.
On the government side, public prosecutor Pravin Trivedi argued that the state government has right to seek revision of the remand once it is rejected.After the order was reserved, Bhatt who was present in the court told Sessions Judge G N Patel that he would like to assist it and remain present during pronouncement of the order. But he was told that his presence was not required. The judge also asked the jail authorities not to bring Bhatt on October 7.
The court proposed to Bhatt that if he agreed to get his lockers searched, it would readily consider his bail plea and grant it by this evening. This was done in a spirit of judicial compromise, but Bhatt refused saying he “cannot compromise with “touts”. “Whatever wrong the government wants to do I don't care, I will tolerate it,” he old the court.
He was arrested on September 30 in connection with an FIR filed against him by police constable K D Pant in June for allegedly threatening him and making him sign false affidavits regarding a meeting called by Chief Minister Narendra Modi on February 27, 2002, hours after the Godhra train carnage. On October 1, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate B G Doshi had rejected the state government's demand for seven-day police custody of Bhatt and remanded him in judicial custody.
The government had challenged the magistrate's order and sought Bhatt's custody on the grounds that it wanted to know how the IPS officer had used the affidavits signed by Pant. The government contended that Bhatt's custody was required to find out about others involved in the conspiracy, and also to ascertain whether the IPS officer had sent the affidavits to somebody using e-mails.
The government further said that it also wanted to know how many bank lockers did Bhatt have and what was inside them.Bhatt has filed for bail in the sessions court,which will be heard later in the day. PTI
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