New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India rejected three petitions of former controversial IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt and imposed a fine totalling 3 lakhs on him on Tuesday. Bhatt had accused a lower court judge of bias during his trial in a case involving alleged drug planting. Justices Vikram Nath and Rajesh Bindal, presiding over the case, imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh for each of the three separate petitions and directed Bhatt to deposit this amount with the Gujarat High Court Advocates Association.

The bench noted Bhatt’s frequent appearances in the Supreme Court, referencing a previous order related to a similar plea filed by him. In one petition, Bhatt had requested the transfer of his trial to another sessions court, citing bias. In the second petition, he sought the recording of trial court proceedings via audio-video methods. The third petition aimed to introduce additional evidence in the case. Sanjiv Bhatt, a former IPS officer, had been arrested in 2018 by the Gujarat CID in connection with allegations of planting drugs to incriminate an individual.

Previously, on May 10, another bench had dismissed a separate plea by Bhatt, which sought permission to present additional evidence to support his appeal in the Gujarat High Court regarding his conviction in a 1990 custodial death case. He had also requested the recusal of Justice M R Shah, who has since retired, from hearing his plea on May 10.