Petition Filed in SC Over Loya’s Death Motivated: Lawyers’ Body

BLA said the move was meant to ensure the High Court does not hear their Judge Loya petition on the ground.

File photo of the Supreme Court. 

(Photo: The Quint)

The Bombay Lawyers Association (BLA), on 13 January, claimed a petition filed in the Supreme Court seeking a probe into the death of special CBI judge BH Loya was "motivated".

The petition, filed by journalist BR Lone, was submitted to ensure a petition by the association on the same issue is not heard by the Bombay High Court, the BLA claimed.

The association had earlier petitioned the HC, seeking a judicial inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of Loya in 2014.

Loya, at the time, was hearing the case related to the alleged fake encounter killing of gangster Sohrabuddin Sheikh, his wife Kausar Bi and associate Tulsi Prajapati in 2005.

BLA president Ahmed Abdi on 13 January held a press conference following allegations made by four senior judges of the Supreme Court claiming impropriety on part of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra in assigning important cases.

Our petition was filed on 4 January. This petition in the Supreme Court has been filed subsequently. This was motivated and meant to ensure the High Court does not hear our petition on the ground that the apex court is seized of the matter.

Ahmed Abdi, President, BLA

He also alleged that even though their petition was filed on 4 January, it was numbered by the HC Registrar only in the afternoon of 12 January after the unprecedented press conference of the four SC judges in New Delhi.

"If the lawyers association faces such treatment then what about the general public? The High Court takes suo motu (on its own) cognisance of issues like potholes on roads but not in the case of a judge's death. My demand is for an open inquiry (into Loya's death)," Abdi said.

HC Registrar General SD Agarwal, however, refuted the allegations and said at present there is only one registrar doing the job of accepting petitions, PILs and other suits, and numbering them.

There are supposed to be two registrars. But right now there is only one as the second registrar has been transferred. Hence, there is a delay in petitions being assigned numbers.

SD Agarwal, Registrar General, High Court

Abdi had earlier this week mentioned his petition before a Division Bench of Justices SC Dharmadhikari and Bharti Dangre, which posted it for hearing on 23 January.

Abdi on Saturday said he would now be filing an intervening application in the SC, seeking that the case and all petitions pertaining to it be heard by the Bombay HC as it is in-charge of Maharashtra's subordinate judiciary of which Loya was a part.

Loya had allegedly died of cardiac arrest in Nagpur on 1 December 2014, when he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleague's daughter.

Lone, in his petition filed in the SC, had submitted that a fair probe was needed into the death of Loya.

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