Times of
India: New Delhi: Tuesday, January 23,
2018.
The Supreme Court said on Monday that PILs seeking
an independent probe into special CBI judge B H Loya's death raised serious
issues which should be decided by looking objectively into all documents
without being distracted by allegations. It transferred to itself two PILs on
the matter that the Bombay high court was scheduled to hear on Tuesday.
A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices
A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud also barred other HCs from entertaining any
petition concerning Loya's case. Appearing for the petitioners, senior advocate
Dushyant Dave conceded that "as of today the death appears to be a natural
one", but said his clients had used the Right to Information Act to get
many more documents on Loya's death which had not been produced by the
Maharashtra government before the apex court.
These RTI documents raise serious suspicions about
the circumstances leading to Loya's death," he claimed. The bench took a
cue from Dave's admission and said, "If it is a natural death as of now,
why cast aspersions? Let us look at the matter dispassionately and
objectively." It also transferred two PILs pending before Bombay HC to
itself.
The order
followed high-octane arguments. A packed court room watched in silence as
Maharashtra government's counsel Harish Salve presented documents, including
statements of four district judges, in support of the state's stand that Loya
suffered a heart attack and died a natural death. Dave attacked Salve and said
the latter had violated professional ethics by appearing for the Maharashtra
government despite having represented BJP chief Amit Shah.
Shah was one
of the accused in the case concerning the "fake" encounter of
inter-state gangster Sohrabuddin Sheikh which was being tried by Loya at the
time of his death. Shah was later discharged from the case.
The CJI-led
bench said, "We are looking at the circumstances in which Loya died. Let
it not be deflected by personal allegations. Several newspaper articles have
raised a serious issue about Loya's death. We would like to look at all
documents, both the ones produced by the state and those obtained through RTI
by petitioners. We must know all facts. Let us look at these documents
objectively and not get deflected by allegations." It posted the hearing
on all PILs, including the transferred ones, on February 2.
Salve said
two district judges had accompanied Loya for a wedding reception in Nagpur and
they stayed together in a guesthouse where, in the early hours of December 1,
2014, Loya suffered a massive heart attack. "Loya was taken by the two
district judges in a car to a hospital and then to another. These two judges
were later joined by another two district judges. All of them have given
statements during the discreet inquiry that they had been with Loya all along
during his last hours and that there was no foul play or suspicion about the
nature of death," he said.
"The
claim in the media report that Loya was taken to hospital in a three-wheeler
was completely baseless as the judges have stated in their statements that Loya
was taken in a car to the hospital," Salve said, adding then Bombay HC
chief justice Mohit Shah was informed about the developments on a realtime
basis and the CJ had taken steps for adequate medical help to Loya, who could
not be revived.
Dave vented
his ire against Salve by questioning his ethics, and requested the SC not to
permit Salve to argue in the case. He also criticised then CJ Mohit Shah in
transferring the Sohrabuddin Sheikh trial judge.
"There
is sufficient evidence to show Loya never stayed at the guesthouse. On November
24, 2014, Loya's security was withdrawn in Mumbai. Why were Loya's family
members not called to the hospital? There are serious contradictions which
require a deeper independent probe. No one has a personal interest in this
case," Dave said.
"It is
sad that Justice Mohit Shah transferred the first judge in the Sohrabuddin
trial. The second judge (Loya) died. The third judge acquitted Amit Shah and
others within a month of Loya's death," Dave said.