Bhatt's remand hearing adjourned till Oct 10

Ahmedabad: Arrested Gujarat IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt's police remand application hearing was adjourned on Friday till October 10.

Principal Sessions Judge GN Patel said he was unable to complete the order and it would now be pronounced on Monday.

The Gujarat government on October 3 had challenged in the sessions court a magisterial court order denying remand of the suspended IPS officer, arrested for allegedly threatening and forcing a constable to sign a false affidavit.

During the hearing, Bhatt's lawyer IH Sayed had contended that the revision remand application of the state government was not maintainable in law.

Sayed had cited a Supreme Court judgement which stated that granting or rejecting bail was an interlocutory order and there cannot be revision of that order as per section 397(2) of the CrPC.

Arguing from the government side, public prosecutor Pravin Trivedi had stated that the state government has the right to seek revision of the remand once it is rejected.

Meanwhile, Bhatt's bail plea hearing is scheduled to be heard at 3 pm in Metropolitan court in Ahmedabad on Friday.

Earlier, the court had asked Bhatt to accept the police remand for few hours, following which he would be granted bail, but he denied saying it was a war of principles.

Bhatt was arrested on the basis of an FIR filed against him by police constable KD Pant. The junior officer alleges that Bhatt threatened and forced him to sign a false affidavit.

The affidavit said that Pant was present at a meeting called by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on February 27, 2002 when the CM allegedly asked the police to go slow on the rioters.

However, Pant later claimed that he was in Mumbai when Modi allegedly chaired the meeting.

On October 1, Bhatt's wife Shweta had alleged police harassment while claiming that no one was allowed to meet him. On the same date, Ahmedabad court dismissed the police remand extension and sent Bhatt to judicial custody.

Shweta also wrote two letters to Union Home Minister P Chidambaram seeking his intervention in ensuring the safety and the liberty of her husband.

She had expressed fear that more false cases might be slapped against Sanjeev Bhatt.

(With additional information from PTI)