HC stays proceedings against Bhatt, Pathak

AHMEDABAD, DEC 14: Justice A K Trivedi of the Gujarat High Court has stayed the proceedings against former Ministers Ashok Bhatt, Harin Pa...

AHMEDABAD, DEC 14: Justice A K Trivedi of the Gujarat High Court has stayed the proceedings against former Ministers Ashok Bhatt, Harin Pathak and seven others, who have been charged with murdering a head-constable during the anti-reservation stir of 1985.

The court gave the stay on Wednesday after admitting a petition by the accused, seeking quashing the complaint against them on the ground that the complaint registered for offence punishable under section 188 of the IPC, along with other charges, was not legal in view of the provisions of section 195 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPc).

Section 195 of the the CrPc has laid down that for filing a complaint under sections 172 to 188 of the IPC, the concerned police officer has to file the complaint in the court, not in the police station. After admitting the petition, Justice Trivedi fixed the final hearing on December 26.

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Justice Trivedi had last month quashed and set aside the murder and other charges framed by Additional Sessions Judge Sonia Gokani against former Union Minister of State for Defence Harin Pathak, former Health Minister Ashok Bhatt and nine others in the case.

The charges were squashed after two of the accused — Ghyanshyam Mehta and BJP councillor Mayur Dave — challenged the trial court order on the ground that they were not given a copy of a report of a court commission, as directed by the High Court in an earlier order.

The commission was appointed by the High Court at the time of the agitation after a resident of Khadia filed a petition alleging police excesses. Headed by Anjani Kumar Thakar, then additional registrar, the commission was visiting Khadia when head constable Lakshman Desai was killed. Pathak, Bhatt and the other accused were charged with killing Desai. The commission submitted its report a few months later.

The High Court had directed the Additional Sessions Judge to re-frame charges or take any other decision after hearing the accused and the prosecution, and ensuring that the accused had received copies of the court commission’s report. The High Court said the accused were at liberty to make submissions to the trial court about the charges and claim discharge on the basis of papers supplied to them and on grounds permissible under the law. Government pleader Arun Oza then assured the High Court that the copy of the commission’s report would be placed on record of the trial court and given to the accused by November 21.