Custodial death: SC to pass order today on Bhatt's plea

One-liner: The SC on Tuesday reserved its order on a plea by sacked IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt seeking the recusal of Justice MR Shah from hearing his petition.

Additional evidence: This is to submit additional evidence to support his appeal in the Gujarat HC against conviction in a 1990 custodial death case.

Apprehension of bias: Bhatt’s lawyer contended that there was a reasonable apprehension of bias as Justice Shah had castigated the petitioner as a high court judge while hearing his petition linked to the same FIR.

Submissions heard: An apex court bench said it would pass the order today after it heard submissions from senior advocates Devadatt Kamat, appearing for Bhatt, Maninder Singh, representing the Gujarat govt, and Atmaram Nadkarni, appearing for the complainant in the case.

Conviction challenged: Bhatt had filed the appeal in the HC challenging his conviction in the custodial death case of Prabhudas Vaishnani, who was caught by Jamnagar police after a communal riot.

Highest respect for court: "I have the highest respect for this court. But justice should not only be done but also seen to be done. Judicial propriety demands that your lordship may not hear the matter," Kamat said, adding that the issue is of reasonable apprehension of bias.

What the case is: The case relates to the custodial death of Prabhudas Vaishnani, who was among 133 people caught by Jamnagar police after a communal riot broke out following a bandh call in view of BJP leader L K Advani’s Rath Yatra.