New Delhi, Jan 22, 2018 : A three-judge Supreme Court bench – comprising Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud – began hearing two PILs seeking an independent probe into Judge BH Loya’s death.
SC Transfers Bombay HC Petitions; To Hear Judge Loya Case on 2 Feb
The Bench has directed that the petitions before the Bombay High Court asking for inquiries into Judge Loya’s death should also be brought before the Supreme Court. “The spirit of objectivity should guide us,” stated the apex court.
The next date of hearing in the judge Loya case has been scheduled to 2 February.
Judge Loya died of Cardiac Arrest, Submits Senior Advocate Harish Salve
Senior lawyer Harish Salve in his official submission, says Judge Loya died of cardiac arrest. However, Dushyant Dave says Salve can’t appear in this matter since he appeared for BJP President Amit Shah in various proceedings related to Sohrabuddin Sheikh Case.
However, Justice Chandrachud said that all parties should file whatever they have as complete records need to be seen in the death of a judicial officer, Live Law tweeted.
“This is a serious matter, we have seen all the news paper reports - we would like to see all the records, you do as per your conscience, several newspapers are telling us that there are circumstances , so we have to look at the issue seriously,” said Justice Chandrachud.
3-Judge Bench Led by CJI Begin Hearing
The three judge bench, headed by the CJI, began hearing the Judge Loya case, with a heated arguments in the courtroom. Dushyant Dave is appearing for Bombay Lawyers Association, which filed the PIL in Bombay High court.
Bombay HC To Hear PIL Seeking CBI Direction in Sohrabuddin Case on 23 Jan
The Bombay High Court will hear the PIL filed on 23 January, seeking direction to CBI to challenge the discharge order of Amit Shah given by Special CBI Court in Sohrabuddin Sheikh case, ANI reported.
Court Proceedings So Far
The Judge BH Loya case had initially come up for hearing before a bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra and MM Shantanagoudar. However, Justice Mishra had, on 16 January, recused himself of the case and ordered the matter to be listed before an appropriate bench. He had not fixed any specific date for hearing.
The top court had left it to the Maharashtra government to decide which documents relating to the special CBI judge’s death could be handed over to the petitioners.
The state government, which had filed documents related to his death in a sealed cover, had during hearing opposed the petitioners’ demand that the entire material be handed over to them for perusal.
A new three-member bench assigned to the case would be headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra.
Unanswered Questions Loom Over Judge Loya’s "Mysterious Death"
Judge Brijgopal Harkishan Loya, 48, died in Nagpur in December 2014, while hearing the politically sensitive Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case.
Earlier in 2017, Judge Loya’s relatives raised suspicions over his death. In an interview to The Caravan magazine, his sister Anuradha Biyani had cited that bloodstains were visible on his clothes, while a relative alleged that the deceased judge was offered a bribe. But the police and a judge who were with Judge Loya during his last hours refuted the family’s claims. His son, Anuj Loya, said the matter was being politicised and no suspicions should be raised regarding his death.
Later, activist Tehseen Poonawala and a journalist from Maharashtra, BS Lone, filed petitions in the Supreme Court, seeking an independent inquiry into his death. The Maharashtra government has also submitted the post-mortem details and a 50-page intelligence report as documents regarding the death of Judge Loya.
But several other discrepancies in the events that followed his death have quite inadvertently led to a constitutional crisis in the country.
courtesy:Yahoo