Stating that there was “no prima facie violation” of the Supreme Court’s DK Basu guidelines to initiate proceedings under the provisions of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, against then Rajkot Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Jaydeepsinh Sarvaiya and other police officers in an alleged case of custodial torture in 2020, the Gujarat High Court on Thursday dismissed an application seeking the same.

A division bench of Justice BD Karia and Justice LS Pirzada of the Gujarat High Court was hearing the application filed by filed by Palbhai Ambalia, (then) President of Farmers Wing of Gujarat Congress Pradesh Samiti, in 2021 seeking civil contempt proceedings against the five respondents for “alleged conscious, willful and repeated defiance” of an SC order dated December 12, 1996, which put in place the DK Basu guidelines to prevent custodial torture and ensure transparency during arrests and detention.

The respondents included then Rajkot DCP Sarvaiya, police inspectors Hitesh Gadhvi and Vikram Vanzara, Commissioner of Police Manoj Agarwal and the state of Gujarat.

Ambalia’s case was that pursuant to an FIR against him, he was called to the Pradyumananagr police station on May 20, 2020, to be released on bail. After being granted bail, he was allegedly called back to give his thumb impression and then taken to the office of the Commissioner of Police, Rajkot city, where he was allegedly “held against his wish… against a tree by two police officers (Sarvaiya and Gadhvi), who brutally thrashed [Ambalia] due to which the applicant received substantial blows on the lower portion of his body”.

He was booked in other cases and produced before the Magistrate, who directed the police to take him to the Rajkot civil hospital for treatment. Ambalia also contended that he had moved an application intimating the Magistrate that he had been beaten and tortured in custody, but “no action was taken by the executive magistrate against the said application”.

Ambalia also submitted that since he wanted to be treated at a private hospital after the incident, he had sought permission from the magistrate for the same. Ambalia contended that his request to lodge a complaint at Rajkot commissioner of police against the torture went unheard and he was also “made to sit in the office of the director general of police in Gandhinagar” for an entire day after being detained under provisions of the Gujarat Police Act, when he went there with his supporters to lodge a complaint. Ambalia had moved the civil contempt petition after a July 2021 order of the HC in another petition, granting him the liberty to move the contempt plea.

Considering all submissions, the HC said in its judgment on Thursday, “…it appears that as per the report submitted by the deputy commissioner of police and, as per the medical report obtained by him after a considerable period of time from the private nursing home at Madhuram Hospital, has come to the conclusion that there were injuries on the body of the applicant before one to four days of the date of the incident…”

The court held that Ambalia had “not been able to show any prima facie case against the respondents”.

Advocate Virat Popat, who appeared on behalf Sarvaiya and Gadhvi, made submissions relying upon the statement of “A” Summary submitted by the assistant commissioner of police before the JMFC

against the accused police officer, the court order notes. The advocate pointed out that “there is no material” and “no prima facie evidence” to show any police atrocity on the applicant. The court noted submissions that the matter is pending before the JMFC for adjudication of the complaint filed following an order passed by the Commissioner of Police on the basis of a final report submitted by the Deputy Commissioner of Police.

The court, while dismissing the application, granted liberty to Ambalia to “raise the contentions in the pending proceedings before the learned JMFC to contest the matter on merits” as no ingredients of contempt of the DK Basu guidelines had been attracted.