Judge Loya Flashcards
The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed petitions seeking an independent probe into the death of special CBI judge Loya. The top court, ruling that the death was due to “natural causes”, observed that the petitioners tried to scandalise the judiciary. A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra , pronounced its verdict after hearing a clutch of petitions.
Records show that Loya died of a heart attack in Nagpur, Maharashtra, in 2014. The petitioners, however, had moved the top court alleging he died under “mysterious” circumstances. At the time of his death in 2014, he was hearing the Sohrabuddin Sheikh “fake encounter” case, in which BJP president Amit Shah was named an accused. Shah was later acquitted in the case.
Taking the Loya case as an example, the court in its order also lamented over the increasing instances of misuse of PILs. Stating that the bench was not spared by the petitioners and that serious attacks were made against the credibility of the two Bombay High Court judges, the court said it “should not be made the venue to settle political scores .”
The Opposition had also launched an attack against the BJP, saying that democracy was under threat when lawyers are jeopardized for doing their duty. Congress chief Rahul Gandhi also met president Ramnath Kovind seeking an independent probe in the case. The memorandum handed over to the President was signed by 114 MPs from 15 parties.
