Judge Loya’s Death: Mukul Rohatgi Questions The Credentials Of The Petitioners And 'Public Interest', Technicalities Do Not Matter In PILs, Says Dave

As the hearing in the string of writ petitions seeking an independent probe into the death of CBI special judge Loya resumed before the Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice AM Khanwilkar on Monday, senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi, appearing on behalf of the state of Maharashtra, advanced his submissions.“Before I deal with the merits of the allegations, I wish to discuss the basic premise of a PIL,” began Rohatgi.He referred to the 2010 judgment of the apex court in State Of Uttaranchal v Balwant Singh Chaufal, in so far as it was held therein that before entertaining a PIL, the court should prima facie satisfy itself of the credentials of the petitioner, the correctness of the content thereof and that substantial public interest is involved therein.“The present petitions are motivated and only intended to sensationalise the death of a judge”, he said.Continuing, he submitted, “The demise happened in the wee hours of the morning on December 1, 2014. The judge was cremated in his hometown near Latur in the presence of his family members. Neither the aggrieved persons nor the so-called PIL petitioners did anything for 3 years. Then on November 21, 2017, a baseless article appeared in the Caravan. Thereafter, these people arose from a slumber and a flurry of petitions followed.”Judge Loya Case: Senior Advocate V. Giri Points Out Inconsistencies In Official Version Before SC [Read Written Submissions]“A PIL ordinarily may not be entertained based on a newspaper article. Hearsay has no place in a criminal trial. It is not my desire to say that these petitions should be dismissed at the threshold but the state is satisfied with the discreet inquiry report... The advocates, on the other side, have argued the matter as if it were a murder appeal... None have read the statements of the judges,” advanced Rohatgi.“From the night of November 29, 2014 to the afternoon of December 1, 2014, four district-level judicial officers were with the deceased. An inquiry may be directed into judge Loya’s death only if the statements of these judges are to be rejected and it is implied that they were conspirators in the death. Further, four judges of the Bombay High Court, including the Chief Justice, had reached the Meditrina Hospital around 7 am, half an hour after the death. It cannot be more contemporaneous than this,” he submitted.Judge Loya Hearing [Day-3] Dave Vs Shishodia, Salve And Lots More [Courtroom Exchange] Thereupon, Rohatgi proceeded to discuss the contents of the present petitions, and the affidavits and the credentials of the petitioners in the light of the observations in Chaufal’s case- “One petition is filed by one Tehseen Poonawalla who claims to be ‘acting bonafide for the welfare of the society as a whole’. Who is the petitioner? What does he do? How is the benefit of the society related to the death of judge Loya? Further, the source of knowledge is provided as ‘media and newspaper reports’- the petition speaks of the Indian Express, Caravan, NDTV, that is it! There has been no verification of the facts before moving the Supreme Court. The nature of allegations is also completely reckless. One of the grounds avers that the post mortem was conducted without the approval of the family. Judge Loya had collapsed on the way to Meditrina Hospital and had been brought dead. That is why the hospital had directed a post mortem because they could not have issued a death certificate. No consent of the family is needed for that”.Salve Vs Dave -The Gripping Courtroom Exchange In SC During Judge Loya Death Case Hearing“Another petition has been filed by one Bandhuraj Sambhaji Lone who is a journalist-activist. Again, the source of information is the newspaper and media reports. Apparently, the Caravan is the gospel on which state inquiry can be questioned and the matter argued as an appeal. Further, one of the grounds cites the discrepancies or contradictory stories in the newspapers - how does that matter? Finally, how could it have been stated that the ‘averments are true and correct to my knowledge’? The time has come for the court and the registry to deliberate on what constitutes an affidavit,” he continued.Moving on to the petition by the Bombay Lawyers’ Association, transferred by the Supreme Court to itself from the Bombay High Court, he advanced, “It has been stated that the petitioner is a body of advocates. Nothing has been provided as to its registration and who the officebearers are. Further, the (Sohrabbuddin) trial commenced in 2017, three years after the transfer (of judge Utpat). The fact of the transfer is absolutely irrelevant. Why did the Association only move the High Court after the article in the Caravan and not at the time of the transfer when they were aware of the facts?”Referring to the affidavit of one Ashok Asthana, he added, “Whatever is claimed in the newspaper reports has become ‘knowledge’”. In response to a question by Justice Khanwilkar as to ...

Judge Loya’s Death: Mukul Rohatgi Questions The Credentials Of The Petitioners And 'Public Interest', Technicalities Do Not Matter In PILs, Says Dave

Mehal Jain

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