SC rejects plea of Ex IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt in 30-year old custodial death case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a plea of sacked IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt seeking to examine 11 additional witnesses in a 30-year-old custodial death case.

A vacation bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Indira Banerjee and also comprising Justice Ajay Rastogi, dismissed the petition filed by Bhatt.

"We are not inclined to entertain the petition. The same is devoid of merits. We dismiss it," the bench said.

Maninder Singh, former Additional Solicitor General (ASG) and senior Supreme Court lawyer, appearing for the state of Gujarat told the apex court that it should not entertain Bhatt's petition.

Singh further told the court that the trial in the custodial death case, against Bhatt has been completed and the judgment is likely to be pronounced, by the Jamnagar Sessions Court in Gujarat, on June 20 or July first week.

Bhatt is an accused in the 1989 custodial death case when he was posted as the additional superintendent of police in Gujarat's Jamnagar.