SC transfers to itself all petitions on Loya
COURT FROWNS at lawyer for raking up the name of BJP chief Amit Shah even as CJI describes case as "serious"
Heated exchanges between senior lawyers on Monday marked the hearing of the pleas seeking a probe into death of special CBI judge B H Loya. The fireworks began with Chief Justice Dipak Misra taking umbrage at senior advocate Dushyant Dave for raking up the name of BJP chief Amit Shah, who was an accused in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh case when Loya was presiding over it at the time of his death in December 2014.
Dave, appearing for a Mumbai lawyer's body, earned the court’s wrath for saying that everything was done to protect Shah, then Gujarat state home minister. The Chief Justice was annoyed at casting of aspersions on BJP president even before the court had heard the case and let his annoyance be known.
At the same time, the CJI termed the case as "serious," stating that the Bench would look into "all documents with utmost seriousness" and fixed the next hearing on February 2, asking the parties to catalogue all documents for the court's perusal.
"As of today, it is a natural death. Then do not cast aspersions," the CJI said on the strong objection by senior advocate Harish Salve, the counsel for the Maharashtra Government. Salve was piqued further when Dave contended that he should not appear for the state government since he had appeared for the BJP President in this case itself.
But there were to be more fireworks. When the Bench, which also included Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, transferred to itself two other petitions on Loya's death pending before the Bombay High Court and its Nagpur Bench and barred all High Courts in the country from entertaining any petition in this regard, activist lawyer Indira Jaising commented that the Apex Court may issue a possible order in future to gag the media as well in the case.
The CJI frowned at her. "This is not fair to me. This you cannot do," he said and asked Jaising to retract and apologise forthwith. She retracted her remark and tendered an apology.
Judge Loya was holding the trial in the encounter killing of Sohrabuddin, his wife and an aide in Gujarat at the time of his death and the controversy arose as Amit Shah was discharged in the case by a new judge within four weeks of his death.
The "natter is serious. We are examining the material on record. Our conscience should not suffer...," the Bench said while asking two PIL movers to file whatever documents they had to understand the circumstances that they alleged were behind Loya's death.
The Bench was hearing PILs filed by social activist Tehseen Poonawalla and Mumbai-based journalist Bandhuraj Sanbhaji Lone, seeking an independent probe into the judge's death.
The CJI decided to hear the case himself after Justice Arun Mishra last week recused from hearing it after four seniormost judges questioned why a case of such an importance was given to a junior judge like him.
There was sparring between the lawyers too with Dushyant Dave asserting that Harish Salve should stop representing Maharashtra as he had earlier defended Amit Shah.