The Bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi said it was not inclined to entertain Bhatt’s plea challenging the sentence handed down by a sessions court in Gujarat’s Banaskantha district.
Bhatt had approached the Apex Court seeking suspension of the sentence, arguing that his conviction stemmed from a fabricated case relating to an alleged drug recovery from a hotel room in Palanpur almost three decades ago. The trial court had found him guilty of falsely implicating a Rajasthan-based lawyer, Sumersingh Rajpurohit, by claiming drugs were recovered from his hotel room in 1996.
According to the prosecution, the Banaskantha police under Bhatt’s command had arrested the lawyer to pressure him into transferring a disputed property in Rajasthan. The Rajasthan Police later stated that Rajpurohit had been framed.
Bhatt, who was dismissed from service in 2015, has been lodged in Palanpur sub-jail since his arrest by the Gujarat CID in September 2018 under the NDPS Act. The proceedings originated after former police inspector I.B. Vyas petitioned the Gujarat High Court in 1999 seeking a thorough inquiry.
Last year, Bhatt also sought transfer of the trial to another sessions court, alleging bias by the presiding judge. The Supreme Court dismissed that plea and imposed costs of ₹3 lakh, holding that his allegations were unfounded.
With the present plea rejected, Bhatt will continue serving his 20-year sentence unless he secures relief through other legal avenues.