Order by Justices Mishra and Shantanagoudar signals thaw in SC hostilities. Not assigning this case to senior judges was among the four judges’ complaints against the CJI.
New Delhi: In a surprise twist to the unprecedented crisis in the Supreme Court, the controversial case seeking a probe into Maharashtra trial court judge Brijgopal Loya’s death may end up before a fresh bench of the apex court.
In an order passed Tuesday, Justices Arun Mishra and Mohan M. Shantanagoudar said the case must be listed before an “appropriate bench” at the next date of hearing. The judges had not read this line aloud in court while passing the order.
While this line does not necessarily mean the case will no longer be heard by the same bench, it has given rise to speculation that senior judges could hear it.
Assigning this case to what they called a “preferred bench” by the Chief Justice of India was one of the concerns raised by the four senior judges – Jasti Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Kurian Joseph and Madan B. Lokur – at their press conference Friday at which they questioned the conduct of CJI Dipak Misra.
Congress leader Tehseen Poonawala and journalist B. Lone had moved the apex court seeking a court-monitored probe into the death of judge Loya.
Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for the Maharashtra government, told the court Tuesday that the probe was still on, and shared reports with the petitioners. The court then said the case would be listed after a week.
Loya, the special Central Bureau of Investigation judge in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case, died in December 2014.
In November 2017, The Caravan magazine published a report in which Loya’s father and sisters alleged that he had been under immense pressure to give a favourable verdict in the case, and raised questions over his death. The case was high-profile because of the presence of BJP president Amit Shah among those originally accused.
On Sunday though, Loya’s son Anuj held a press conference in Mumbai and said there was nothing suspicious about his father’s death and blamed the family’s earlier stance on emotional turmoil.