“Gujarat Must Respond”: Top Court on Allegations by Sanjiv Bhatt’s Wife
Sanjiv Bhatt, a vocal critic of the ruling BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was dismissed from service in 2015 on grounds of “unauthorized absence”.
NEW DELHI, SEPT 25: The Gujarat government was today asked to respond to allegations that former Gujarat police officer Sanjiv Bhatt is being stopped from approaching the Supreme Court. The ex-IPS (Indian Police Service) officer’s wife raised the allegation before the top court.
Shweta Bhatt tells the Supreme Court that her husband, Sanjiv Bhatt was not being allowed to sign a ‘vakalatnama,’ (a document prepared by a lawyer with terms for his client to sign before representing him in the court of Law, in the USA it is known as a retainer) and approach the court, and so she was compelled to move the court on behalf of her husband.
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The Supremes, Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Navin Sinha, said this was “very serious”… “This is something very serious, a person not being allowed to come to the court. His wife is being compelled to come. Before we go into the merit of the case, we will like the State of Gujarat to respond, as according to us the issue raised is of considerable importance as it pertains to the allegation against the State preventing a citizen from coming to court.”
“It is a serious allegation if true,” the Supreme Court said.
“Usually the accused come to court. But in this case, the wife has come to the court. If a citizen is making a serious allegation, the state must give its response,” it said.
The Gujarat government, represented by former Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, told the court that it would reply by Friday.
The next hearing is on 4 October.
Sanjiv Bhatt was arrested earlier this month in a 22-year-old case of alleged planting of drugs to arrest a man.
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A lawyer was arrested in 1996 for allegedly keeping one kg opium by the police in Banaskantha when Sanjiv Bhatt was posted there. An investigation later revealed that the lawyer was picked up from his home and implicated falsely so he would be compelled to transfer a disputed property. The lawyer said he had been pressured by Sanjiv Bhatt and that he had never been in the hotel room from where the drugs were allegedly found.
Sanjiv Bhatt, a vocal critic of the ruling BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was dismissed from service in 2015 on grounds of “unauthorized absence”.
Prior to his arrest, his house was partially bulldozed, destroyed by the Ahmedabad municipal corporation, then a bill was sent to pay for the cost of demolition,
After the arrest of Sanjiv Bhatt, many raised their voices against injustice and demanded his immediate release, his wife Shweta is posting on her husbands Facebook posts demanding justice for her husband, there are many who are also showing disgust against the Modi Govt, and posting their videos.
Sanjiv Bhatt an IPS officer was arrested by the CID Crime Branch of Gujarat Police on September 5 in connection with a 1996 case.
9-30-2018 Given below is an updated copy from the FB post written by W/o of Sanjiv Bhat
“This is Shweta Sanjiv Bhatt,
30th September 2018.
It has almost been a month since Sanjiv was taken away from home.
It is somewhat hard not to notice a pattern in the chain of events that have unfolded since the end of summer. On the 16th of July, Sanjiv’s personal security was withdrawn by the State. Sanjiv did not lose his resolve. On the 30th of July, under false pretext, they demolished our home. Sanjiv continued to speak up. On the 5th of September, they falsely implicated him in a 22-year-old case.
Sanjiv was taken away from home and stripped away from his family because he still performs his duty now with the same honesty he displayed then, when he proudly wore the Khakhi for the first time. Serving his country was not only a job, it was an honour; a way-of-being that has dictated his conduct for the past 28 years.
This is precisely the reason why he is not here to address you today. Because despite the incessant pressures and threats we received, he has not lost the determination to stand up against what he believes is wrong. Because his steady voice, that every attempt to muzzle has only amplified, echoed the concerns of many Indians who believe, like him, in the virtues of justice and democracy; and whose cries have fallen deaf to the ears of this autocratic regime.
In these strange and uncertain times, each passing day brings with itself more disturbing news of politically fuelled intolerance and hatred. India once boasted the shining state of its democracy; it is now governed by leaders openly confessing their ambition to remain in power for the next five decades. India carved in stone the protection of fundamental rights; yet today; journalists, law professors, activists are sentenced to house arrest, and 22-year-old cases are reopened to achieve personal vendetta.
When freedom of speech ceases to be considered a fundamental right and becomes a threat, when questioning the government becomes ‘anti-national’ and is rewarded by jail-time, it is about time to reflect on our civil duties. Don’t you think now is the time to come out of our protective shells, and raise our voice for India, with Sanjiv – for Sanjiv?
God Bless.”.
