Gujarat HC sentences four cops to 14-day jail for contempt of court

AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat High Court on Thursday sentenced four policemen, including an inspector, to 14 days of simple imprisonment in a case of contempt of court that stemmed from the public flogging of some minority community members at a village in Kheda district of the state in 2022.

A division bench of Justices A S Supehia and Gita Gopi held the four policemen guilty of contempt of court and ordered them to spend 14 days in jail as punishment.

The bench led by Justice Supehia directed these policemen to remain present before the judicial registrar of the court within 10 days of getting the order so that they can be sent to an “appropriate jail”.

But in a reprieve to the policemen, the high court stayed the implementation of its order for a period of three months to allow the accused to file an appeal against the judgement

These four police personnel are inspector A V Parmar, sub-inspector D B Kumavat, head constable K L Dabhi and constable R R Dabhi.

The high court had framed charges against them after they were identified and their role was specified in a report prepared by the chief judicial magistrate (CJM), Kheda, after an inquiry into the incident.

During a hearing on the sentence on Thursday, advocate Prakash Jani, appearing for the policemen, urged the court to show a lenient approach in view of the service record of these policemen.