Apex court dismisses objection in Loya case

LAWYER DUSHYANT DAVE ARGUED THAT A STATE GOVT PROBE INTO LOYA’S DEATH HAD BEEN CONDUCTED HURRIEDLY

NEWDELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a lawyer’s protestations against being questioned over his submissions on a petition seeking an independent probe into the death of CBI special court judge BH Loya.

“We do not have to show a veneer of justice to you. Justice lies in our conscience and hearts. We do not want certificates from lawyers,” Justice DY Chandrachud, one of the members of the bench, said.

Lawyer Dushyant Dave started by arguing that a Maharashtra government probe into Loya’s death had been conducted hurriedly, and sought an independent investigation. He questioned the manner in which the three sitting judges of the Bombay high court, who were reportedly with Loya when he died in Nagpur on December 1, 2014, gave their statements “like good school children” within a day of the commissioner (investigation) writing to the Chief Justice.

To this, Justice Chandrachud asked Dave if he wouldn’t have maintained the same stand if the judges had taken their time. “Then you would probably have said how consistent the statements are,” he remarked.

Dave retorted by wondering why the court was asking “questions only for our submissions and none for the Maharashtra government”. A visibly upset Justice Chandrachud then informed the lawyer that he does not have to agree with the bench. “Sometimes we become so selfpossessed that we forget who is a judge and who is a lawyer,” he said. Judge Loya was hearing the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case in Gujarat, in which BJP president Amit Shah was an accused.