A court in Palanpur in Gujarat’s Banaskantha on Wednesday held former Indian Police Service officer Sanjiv Bhatt guilty in a drug-planting case dating back to 1996.

The prosecution said that the court of additional sessions judge JN Thakkar heard both sides on the quantum of punishment and a verdict on the same was expected on Thursday. The prosecution has sought a maximum punishment of 20 years for Bhatt.

Bhatt has been found guilty under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act Sections 21(c), 27A (punishment for financing illicit traffic and harbouring offenders), 29 (abetment and criminal conspiracy to commit offence under NDPS Act), 58 (1) and (2) (vexatious entry, search, seizure and arrest).

Bhatt has also been convicted under IPC Sections 465 (forgery), 471 (using forged document), 167 (public servant framing an incorrect document with intent to cause injury), 204 (secrets or destroys any document), 343 (wrongful confinement), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intent).

What is the case?

The case against Bhatt relates to Sumer Singh Rajpurohit, a Rajasthan-based lawyer, who was apprehended on the charge of keeping 1.15 kg of opium at a Palanpur hotel. Bhatt, the then DSP, was accused of hatching a conspiracy to frame Rajpurohit in a false case.

Along with Bhatt, IB Vyas, an Inspector at the local crime branch, was named as an accused in the case. Vyas later turned an approver in 2021. The case against the Rajpurohit was punishable under the NDPS Act.

According to The Indian Express, Vyas registered an FIR at the Palanpur police station against Rajpurohit following the seizure, under Section 17 of the NDPS Act. However, a report under CrPC Section 169 (release of accused when evidence deficient) was eventually filed by Vyas, admitting that the person occupying the hotel room was not Rajpurohit. Accordingly, Rajpurohit was discharged by the court.

Rajpurohit eventually filed a complaint against Bhatt, Vyas, the hotel owner and a former High Court judge RR Jain accusing them of framing him. In November 1996, An FIR was registered at the Kotwali police station in Pali against 17 people.

The case remained on the back-burner for around two decades until the Gujarat High Court ordered that the Palanpur FIR be investigated by a special investigation team comprising Gujarat CID officials in April 2018.

Bhatt was arrested in September 2018 in the case. The SIT investigation, headed by Virendrasinh Yadav (now Gandhinagar range DIG), was completed and a chargesheet was filed on November 2, 2018, before an NDPS court in Palanpur against Bhatt and Vyas.