Death of Judge BH Loya, who was hearing Sohrabuddin case, won't be investigated, Supreme Court said today
Highlights
- Decision to stop further inquiry in judge Loya case will be reviewed
- The court, however, has decided to give the matter a private hearing
- The special CBI judge had died of a cardiac arrest in 2014
The decision to stop further inquiry into the death of judge BH Loya will be reviewed by the Supreme Court. The court agreed to take up the matter and revisit its decision of April 19 after a petition was filed by the Bombay Lawyers Association. The court, however, has decided to give the matter a private hearing "in chamber".
On April 19, the top court had decided that judge Loya had died of natural causes and there were no suspicious circumstances that would merit a further inquiry.
The special CBI judge had died of a cardiac arrest in 2014, while hearing a murder case where BJP chief Amit Shah had been named. The judge who replaced him ruled there was not enough evidence against Amit Shah to merit a trial.
When judge Loya's family alleged last year that he had been under threat and there were suspicious circumstances about his death, it triggered a huge controversy and calls for an independent investigation.
In January, Judge Loya's son Anuj Loya said the family no longer had any suspicion about the death.
In its decision in April, the Supreme Court called the petitions for investigation "scandalous" and a "frontal attack on the judiciary". The court also said that it took "strong exception" to the Insinuation that "one individual controls judiciary".
The Bombay Lawyers' Association, which was one of the petitioners, had said it would study the judgment and explore legal remedies. Its review petition filed now in the top court said the judgment "has resulted in miscarriage of justice, if not complete negation of justice on the facts of the case. It is therefore clearly required in the interests of justice that the judgment and order in question be reviewed and recalled".
The opposition had been vocal about the issue, saying democracy was under threat when lawyers and judges working on important cases were targeted. The Congress alleged that two men judge Loya reportedly confided in, lawyer Shrikant Khandalkar and district judge Prakash Thombre, died in suspicious circumstances as well.