Supreme Court refuses to hear sacked IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt's plea seeking security for family, tells him to approach Gujarat HC

The Supreme Court on Friday asked former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt to approach the Gujarat High Court with the petition seeking security to his family. Bhatt filed the petition after his wife Shweta and son sustained minor injuries in a car accident on 7 January in Ahmedabad. A bench of Justice AK Sikri and Justice S Abdul Nazeer refused to entertain Bhatt’s plea seeking security measures for his family.

Supreme Court asks former IPS Sanjiv Bhatt to approach the Gujarat High Court with his petition seeking security to his family after a recent accident involving his wife and son.

— ANI (@ANI) February 8, 2019

On 7 January, Shweta put up a Facebook post detailing the event during which a truck rammed into the car in which she and her son were travelling. Both of them sustained minor injuries. The truck had a “beacon light” but no number plate, National Herald reported. The report added that the truck driver had not been carrying documents and claimed that he “had been hired by a contractor of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC)”. However, The Indian Express reported that the driver had been dismissed by the AMC on 12 January. Bhatt, who was driving, in the post said, “A yellow-coloured AMC dumper came from behind and hit my car sideways from the right.” Earlier on 4 October, the apex court had dismissed Shweta’s plea challenging the police probe and Bhatt’s judicial custody in a 22-year-old case of alleged planting of drugs to arrest an advocate. The top court had said that he could approach an “appropriate forum” for relief. A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and justices SK Kaul and KM Joseph had said the petition can be moved before the Gujarat High Court. The petition had also alleged that Bhatt was not being allowed to sign any document in custody to enable him to approach the top court. Bhatt and seven others, including some former policemen attached with the Banaskantha Police, were initially detained for questioning in the case.