High Voltage Hearing At SC In Judge Loya Matter: Will Continue On Monday [The Gripping Courtroom Exchange &Written Submissions]

The string of writ petitions seeking an independent probe into the death CBI Special Judge Loya witnessed a high voltage hearing on Friday afternoon. As the hearing commenced before the Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice D. Y. Chandrachud and Justice A. M. Khanwilkar, Senior Counsel Dushyant Dave, appearing on behalf of the Bombay Lawyers’ Association, submitted,“I have a prepared a note in respect of the report of the commissioner of intelligence of the state of Maharashtra which requires immediate consideration. The report is a bundle of contradictions. We pray that the report be brought on record by way of affidavit so that we can initiate proceedings under section 340 Cr. P. C.”.Continuing, he stated, “the pleadings also need to be completed. If the pleadings are not traversed, they will go unchallenged. The state should be favouring an independent probe and not opposing it. Let us assume that it was a natural death. So where is the harm in an inquiry?”Elaborating on the discrepancies in the report, Mr. Dave advanced, “When Loya allegedly had a heart attack, none of the four judicial officers whose statements have been produced were with him. There was only a person named Dr. Prashant Rathi who claims Loya had called him. He was taken to the Dande Hospital in Nagpur, from where he was shifted to the Meditrina Hospital. The police report dated December 1, 2014 or any other document does not mention the presence of any other judicial officer”.At this point, Senior Counsel Mukul Rohatgi, representing the government of Maharashtra, intervened, “False! Loya had stayed at a room in the Ravi Bhavan in Nagpur with 2 other judges. He had called deputy Registrar Rupesh Rathi and was taken to the Dande Hospital, wherefrom he was being taken to the Meditrina hospital but died on the way”. Continuing, he said, “For 2 years after the death, nothing was done. Then suddenly an article appeared in the caravan. Thereafter the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court directed the DGP to conduct a discreet inquiry. He spoke to the four judicial officers who stated that they had stayed at the government guesthouse with Loya and that the deputy Registrar had been called”.Mr. Dave retorted, “Loya was not taken to Lata Mangeshgar or some other good hospital but some third grade hospital. What is going on?”“Let us have a bird’s eye view of our the case so that we can understand which documents are already on record and which need to be filed”, said Justice Chandrachud.Mr. Dave proceeded to make his submissions based on the earlier mentioned note prepared by him- “In 2010 in the case of Rubabbuddin Sheikh v. State of Gujarat, the Supreme Court had ordered that investigation be conducted nit by the local Gujarat police but by the CBI as ‘justice is not only done but also seen to be done’. Thereafter, on September 27, 2012, the apex court had mandated that the trial in the case be shifted from Gujarat to Maharashtra, stating that it was ‘convinced that in order to preserve the integrity of the trial it is necessary to shift it outside the State’. The Supreme Court had also ordered that the trial be heard by the same judge from start to finish”.Criticising the administrative order of the High Court transferring JT Utpat, the judge who first heard the trial, and replacing him by Loya, Mr. Dave said, “On June 6, 2014, Utpat had rebuked Amit Shah for seeking exemption from appearing in court. Thereafter, he was given marching orders; he was asked to move to Pune forthwith. It is suspicious. On October 31, 2014, Loya, who had allowed Shah the exemption, asked why Shah had failed to appear in court despite being in Mumbai on that date. Finally, Loya died on December 1, 2014”.“In a matter involving the killings of three persons, an application under section 227 Cr. P. C. is not admissible”, he commented.“Are we talking Loya’s death or an order of the High Court transferring a judge”, asked Mr. Rohatgi rhetorically. “We have made the High Court party to our petition”, replied Mr. Dave.Continuing, Mr. Dave said, “On November 23, 2017, the Home Secretary directed inquiry. On the same day the Commissioner of Intelligence, in his letter addressed to the High Court, mentioned about the four judicial officers. How could have possibly known at that time? Within 5 days, the report was submitted to the Chief Justice on November 28, 2017”.“Letters of the four judges sound parrot like. The Chief Justice and the Registrar were in the adjoining guesthouse. Why did they not call Loya’s wife and family? Why did they not take him to the best hospital? Rathi’s statement was recorded at 8:33 AM and the death happened at 6:15 AM. But there is nothing in the statement about the presence of any other person”, Mr. Dave submitted.Elaborating on the contradictions in the statement dated December 1, he advanced, “The statement was recorded at PS Sitabuldi. There has been a falsification of records by the police. If the other judges were...

High Voltage Hearing At SC In Judge Loya Matter: Will Continue On Monday [The Gripping Courtroom Exchange &Written Submissions]

Mehal Jain

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