SC Dismisses Plea For Independent Probe Into Justice Loya’s Death

New Delhi: The Supreme Court, on Thursday, dismissed pleas demanding an independent probe into the alleged mysterious death of special CBI judge BH Loya, who was investigating the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, in which BJP president Amit Shah was the main accused.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud said the petitions were attempts to ‘scandalise the judiciary’ and these petitions were a real attempt and a frontal attack on the independence of the judiciary. The bench went on to say that litigation had filed to ‘settle political rivalry’.
Justice Loya had allegedly died of cardiac arrest in December 2014, when he had gone to Nagpur to attend a wedding ceremony.

In November last year, Justice Loya’s death had come under the scanner after reports in the media quoted his sister saying his death was linked to the Sohrabuddin case in which Amit Shah along with Rajasthan Home Minister Gulabchand Kataria, Rajasthan-based businessman Vimal Patni, former Gujarat police chief P C Pande, Additional Director General of Police Geeta Johri and Gujarat police officers Abhay Chudasama and N K Amin are accused.

Earlier in January, four senior court judges – Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, M B Lokur and Kurian Joseph had questioned the manner in which sensitive cases including that of Justice Loya’s were being allocated to junior judges.