A Gujarat High Court judge on Tuesday, 3 September, withdrew himself from the hearing of a bail plea filed by sacked IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in a case of custodial death.

Justice VB Mayani, who sat on a division bench with Justice Harsha Devani, said "not before me" when the bail application of Bhatt and Pravinsinh Zala, another convict, came up.

The judge did not assign any reason for the recusal. Bhatt and Zala's appeals against conviction are pending before the same division bench.