2024 RT Amination Banner.gif

China Daily

Asia Pacific> Asia News> Content
Thursday, April 19, 2018, 15:10
India's top court rejects calls for probe into judge's death
By Xinhua
Thursday, April 19, 2018, 15:10 By Xinhua

The Indian Supreme Court building is seen in New Delhi on Aug 24, 2017. (SAJJAD HUSSAIN / AFP)

NEW DELHI - India's top court Thursday rejected pleas seeking an independent probe into death of judge Brijgopal Harkishan Loya and described them "scandalous" and a "frontal attack on the judiciary".

These PILs (public interest litigations) are scandalous and amount to criminal contempt 

India's Supreme Court 

The top court bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra observed that Loya's death was "natural".

"These PILs (public interest litigations) are scandalous and amount to criminal contempt," the court said. "We cannot doubt the statements of the judicial officers who were with judge B H Loya."

The court pulled up the petitioners for what it described "frontal attack on judiciary".

"It appears to be an attempt by the petitioners to malign judges, and is a frontal attack on the judiciary," the court said. "In this case, the petitioners said they had no personal agenda, but during hearing a veiled attempt was made to lodge an attack on the judiciary, which was confronted with scurrilous allegations. Business rivalries have to be resolved in the market, and political rivalries in the hall of democracy. It's the court's duty to protect the law.

Loya was presiding over the trial of ruling Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) president Amit Shah and several top police officers for the encounter killings in Gujarat and died while he was attending a wedding in Nagpur city on Dec 1, 2014.

Doubts about his natural death came under spotlight in November last year after media reports quoting Loya's family members raised suspicion over his sudden demise.

A report published in a local news magazine "Caravan" quoted Loya's family members saying he confided to them that the then Chief Justice of the Bombay high court, Justice Mohit Shah offered a bribe of US$15.5 million (100 crore INR) to him for a verdict favoring Amit Shah and that they were not convinced that the judge died a natural death.

Following media reports, former Chief Justice of Delhi high court A P Shah too called for an investigation into allegations of foul play in judge's death.

Five petitions called for an inquiry after questions were raised about the death of Loya.

Loya was special CBI judge and died five months after taking over Amit Shah's case.

After Loya died, the judge who replaced him in hearing the CBI case, exonerated Amit Shah, ruling out his trial.

The CBI had alleged that as Amit Shah then local home minister of Gujarat, ordered the extra-judicial killings of Sohrabuddin Sheikh in Gujarat, his wife, and their friend who was a witness to Sheikh's killing in 2005.

The case was moved from Gujarat state to the Bombay high court on the orders of Supreme Court after the CBI alleged that Amit Shah in his home state could influence the proceedings because of his position. 

In Feb this year India's opposition parties called upon country's President Ram Nath Kovind demanding a probe into Loya's death.

The Loya case was at the center of an unprecedented rift within the Supreme Court earlier this year when four Supreme Court judges went public expressing their disapproval of CJI for assigning important cases in an arbitrary manner to junior judges, ignoring the seniors.

 


Share this story