SC: Give judge Loya’s reports to petitioners

Judge Loya, who was presiding over Sohrabuddin encounter case, allegedly died of cardiac arrest

The Supreme Court yesterday directed the Maharashtra government to give all documents pertaining to the death of CBI special judge B H Loya to the petitioners, who are seeking an independent investigation into the circumstances behind it.

A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and M M Shantanagoudar passed the direction after the Maharashtra government submitted some documents, including Loya’s post-mortem report, in a sealed cover to the court.

Judge Loya, who was presiding over the Sohrabuddin Shaikh encounter case, had allegedly died of cardiac arrest in Nagpur on December 1, 2014, when he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleague’s daughter.

As the petitioners said they needed to look at the documents submitted, senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for Maharashtra, told the bench that the documents contained certain confidential material which cannot be shared in public and cannot be given to the petitioners.

The counsel for the petitioners, a journalist and a Congress leader, told the bench that they needed to look into these documents to argue the matter.

“It is a matter where they [petitioners] should know everything,” the bench observed.

The bench, which was hearing two PILs seeking independent probe into the death of Loya, adjourned the hearing for after a week without specifying any date.