Lawyers Organize Silent Protest March Outside SC Demanding Court-Monitored Probe Into Judge Loya's Death

Several lawyers, Delhi University teachers and Engineers of the Central Public Works Department gathered outside the Supreme Court on Monday, demanding a Court-monitored fair and impartial probe into the mysterious death of CBI Special Judge Brijgopal Harkishan Loya in 2014, when he was presiding over the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case. The peaceful protest march had been called by 'Lawyers for Democracy'.

Incidentally, the Apex Court today assured to dispassionately examine the circumstances surrounding the Judge's death and reach its own conclusion. The Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud also directed that similar Writ Petitions pending before the Bombay High Court be transferred to it and barred all High Courts from entertaining any similar petitions.

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The Court had earlier adjourned the proceedings after the Maharashtra Government had filed all documents pertaining to it before the Court in a sealed cover. The Bench comprising Justice Arun Mishra and Justice M. Shantanagoudar had also asked Senior Advocate Harish Salve to provide copies of the documents to the Petitioners- Mr. Banduraj Sambhaji Lone and Mr. Tehseen Poonawalla. The Court had then directed the matter to be placed "before the appropriate bench", hinting towards the PIL being moved to a new Bench.

The two Petitions before the Court demand an independent probe into the mysterious death of CBI Special Judge Brijgopal Harkishan Loya in 2014, when he was presiding over the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case. The 48-year old Judge had died of a cardiac arrest in Nagpur, where he had gone to attend a wedding on December 1, 2014.

The allegations first appeared in two reports by The Caravan Magazine, which cited interviews with Judge Loya’s relatives– his sister Anuradha Biyani, niece Nupur Balaprasad Biyani and father Harkishan. According to the magazine, Judge Loya’s wife Sharmila and son Anuj declined to speak since they feared for their lives.

As per the article, Judge Loya was in Nagpur for the 30 November, 2014 wedding of the daughter of  another sitting Judge at the Mumbai Sessions Court, Swapna Joshi. On 1 December, his family members received calls informing them about his demise after suffering a massive cardiac arrest.

The investigative report by Mr. Niranjan Takle points out glaring inconsistencies in the cardiac arrest story. It highlights inconsistencies in the reported account of the death. There were large variations in the precise time of his death and that fact that Judge Loya’s phone was wiped clean of all data before it was returned to the family. The Judge’s postmortem report was also allegedly signed by “maiyatacha chulatbhau”, or paternal cousin, when his family says there is no such person in the family. Further, his family members had noticed blood on his clothes.

Another article had alleged that Justice Mohit Shah had offered Judge Loya Rs. 100 crore for a judgment in favor of Mr. Amit Shah. The article had quote the Judge’s sister, who claimed that Justice Shah would “would call him late at night to meet in civil dress and pressure him to issue the judgment as soon as possible and to ensure that it is a positive judgment.

My brother was offered a bribe of 100 crore in return for a favorable judgment. Mohit Shah, the chief justice, made the offer himself.“

Shortly after Judge Loya’s death, a new Judge, M.B. Gosavi had discharged Mr. Amit Shah, after hearing the parties for three days. The article goes on to question the manner in which the trial took place, asserting that it had violated a September 2012 Supreme Court order, that the Sohrabuddin trial “should be conducted from beginning to end by the same officer”.