Disagreeing with the Supreme Court verdict that rejected pleas seeking a probe into the death of judge B H Loya, the Congress on Thursday demanded a fair inquiry to address the "unanswered questions" and accused the BJP of making "false political capital" by "misinterpreting" the apex court order.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi targeted BJP chief Amit Shah, saying "the truth has its own way of catching up with people like him". The opposition party said it was "unfortunate that the BJP is doing cheap politics even on the death of judge Loya" after the BJP alleged that the Congress chief was the invisible hand behind the petitions seeking the probe
"The truth of Judge Loya's death will one day positively come out after an independent inquiry monitored by Supreme Court," Congress communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala told reporters, and wondered why those in power are "shying away from a probe" if they "agree it is a natural death". "The prime minister should say that he will order a Supreme Court-monitored probe to ascertain the exact reasons for the death of judge Loya," he said.
Earlier in the day, Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that the apex court's verdict will raise more questions.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud said there was no reason to doubt the statements of four judges on the circumstances leading to the judge's death and the documents placed on record and their scrutiny established that the death was due to natural cause.
Loya had died of cardiac arrest in Nagpur on December 1, 2014 when he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleague's daughter.
In the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, BJP President Amit Shah, Rajasthan Home Minister Gulabchand Kataria, Rajasthan-based businessman Vimal Patni, former Gujarat police chief P C Pande, Additional Director General of Police Geeta Johri and Gujarat police officers Abhay Chudasama and N K Amin, have already been discharged.
Here are the top 10 developments as Supreme Court dismisses pleas seeking an independent probe into CBI judge B H Loya's death:
1) Supreme Court website reportedly hacked, down minutes after Loya verdict: "Site under maintenance," read the message on the landing page of supremecourtofindia.nic.in.
"This site can't be reached," said another message on the page of the website maintained by the government-run National Informatics Centre (NIC) that creates e-governance applications. Earlier, the site flashed an error message "Err_Socket_Not_Connected" which means that the site was facing a Domain Name System error.
However, images of the website circulated on social media, apparently captured soon after the top court rejected pleas for an independent probe into the death of Judge B. H. Loya, showed that it may have been attacked by a Brazilian hack team.
Rahul Gandhi
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@RahulGandhi
Indians are deeply intelligent. Most Indians, including those in the BJP, instinctively understand the truth about Mr Amit Shah. The truth has its own way of catching up with people like him.
7:32 PM - Apr 19, 2018
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2) SC ruling in Justice Loya case 'exposed' Congress, says Yogi: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath lauded the decision of the Supreme Court and also accused the Congress party of attempting to create a negative environment against the ruling government. "The verdict in Judge Loya case has exposed the Congress Party once again. Rahul Gandhi should apologise to the people of the country," Adityanath said.
ALSO READ: SC ruling in Justice Loya case 'exposed' Congress: Yogi
3) Sad letter day in India's history, says Congress on SC verdict: The Congress on Thursday raised questions over the Supreme Court verdict rejecting a batch of pleas seeking a probe into the alleged mysterious death of judge B H Loya.
Attacking the BJP for accusing Congress president Rahul Gandhi's as being the invisible hand behind the petitions seeking the probe, party spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala termed the allegations as a malicious attempt which showed the ruling party's jitteriness.
It is a sad letter day in India's history. The suspicious circumstances in which Loya died, was a matter of deep concern for those who have faith in the judiciary. The copy of the entire judgment is not yet available. But there are still questions before those who believe in the judiciary, Surjewala said.
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INC Sandesh
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Statement issued by AICC Communications In-charge @rssurjewala on Judge Loya's death.
3:50 PM - Apr 19, 2018
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4) Rahul behind petitions, says BJP: The ruling BJP came down heavily on the Opposition after the Supreme Court dismissed the Loya death case petition. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said the petitions were filed with a political agenda.
"For some time, a few people were trying to politicise the judiciary. The court has slammed the petitioners who were demanding an SIT probe into the death of judge Loya," he said.
Accusing the Congress of being the "invisible political power or a political platform" behind the petition, Patra said it was an attempt to settle political rivalry.
"Who held a press conference on January 12, 2018? It was Rahul Gandhi. It will be true to say the invisible hand, the invisible body that the Supreme Court is talking about... is none other than Rahul Gandhi and the Congress," he said.
5) Cannot doubt the statement of lower court judge, says SC: Nishant Karketakar, Maharashtra Government Counsel in judge Loya’s death case while talking to reporters after the verdict said that the apex court came to a conclusion after examining all the documents related to the case that Judge Loya died a natural death.
"The court said that there was no chance to doubt the statement of the lower judges who were accompanying Judge Loya. The court has assumed that somewhere the image of the judiciary is being maligned," Karketakar said.
6) 'Attempt made to scandalise judiciary': The Bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and judges A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, which dismissed the pleas, said that attempts were made to scandalise the judiciary by levelling serious allegations against judicial officers and judges of the Bombay High Court.
7) Documents show judge Loya died of natural causes, says SC: The Bench further said that there was no reason to doubt the statements of the four judges on the circumstances leading up to the death of judge Loya, adding that the documents placed on record and their scrutiny established that the special CBI judge's death was due to natural causes.
8) Frivolous litigation filed to settle political scores, says SC: The Supreme Court said that with these petitions it became clear that a real attempt and a frontal attack was being made on the independence of the judiciary. The apex court also said that a frivolous and motivated litigation had been filed to settle a political score.
It also said that political battles should be fought in the "halls of democracy" and not inside court, reported Bar & Bench.
9) SC says petitioners in contempt of court but no action to be taken: The judgment made strong observations against the conduct and submissions of senior counsel Dushyant Dave, V Giri, and advocate Prashant Bhushan, reported Bar & Bench, adding that the Supreme Court stated the submissions of the petitioners prima facie amounted to criminal contempt of court. However, the court said that it was not initiating civil contempt against the petitioners for scandalising the judiciary.
Bar & Bench
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Replying to @barandbench
Aspersions were cast on Administrative Committee of High Court, even judges of this court were not spared, Supreme Court. #JudgeLoya.
Bar & Bench
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Supreme Court stated that submissions of petitioners prima facie amounts to criminal contempt of court but not taking contempt action. #JudgeLoya.
11:05 AM - Apr 19, 2018
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Strong observations in the judgment against conduct and submissions of Senior Counsel Dushyant Dave, V Giri and adv. Prashant Bhushan. #JudgeLoya
11:36 AM - Apr 19, 2018
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10) Mukul Rohatgi says petitions were in 'personal interest': Commenting on the Supreme Court's verdict on Judge Loya's death, former attorney general Mukul Rohatgi told news agencies that "these petitioners did not uphold the rule of law". Rohatgi added, "The main aim was to attack some senior functionaries of the current government. There was no question of foul play. Petition had personal interest, not public interest."
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These petitioners did not uphold the rule of law. Main aim was to attack some senior functionaries of the current government. There was no question of foul play. Petition had personal interest, not public interest: Mukul Rohatgi, Former AG on SC's verdict on #JudgeLoya Death case
11:54 AM - Apr 19, 2018
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Loya's death came into the spotlight after media reports in November: Loya had allegedly died of cardiac arrest on December 1, 2014, in Nagpur, where he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleague's daughter. The issue of Loya's death had come under the spotlight in November last year after media reports quoting his sister fuelled suspicion about the circumstances surrounding it and its link to the Sohrabuddin Sheikh case. But Loya's son had on January 14 said in Mumbai that his father had died of natural causes.
Did sequence of events suggest foul play? Those seeking an independent probe into the matter had referred to the sequence of events related to judge Loya's death to highlight that a fair investigation was needed to rule out any foul play in his demise.
The judgment pronounced by Justice Chandrachud took exception to the way the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed and insinuations were made against the committee of administrators of the Bombay High Court and the judges of the Supreme Court in the course of the hearing.
But the court said it was not initiating civil contempt against the petitioner for scandalising the judiciary. It pulled up the petitioners for making unfounded allegations against the judicial officers which were extraneous to the issue.
"The PIL was misused with a political agenda that one man was behind everything. It is a matter of serious concern when court is faced with frivolous PILs and several genuine cases involving personal liberty of under-privileged are pending.
"It is a travesty of justice in the guise of demanding independence of judiciary as if there is a great danger to this institution," the court said.
"It gives a sense of anguish that the proceedings were converted to scandalise the judiciary bordering on contempt," the court said.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi targeted BJP chief Amit Shah, saying "the truth has its own way of catching up with people like him". The opposition party said it was "unfortunate that the BJP is doing cheap politics even on the death of judge Loya" after the BJP alleged that the Congress chief was the invisible hand behind the petitions seeking the probe
"The truth of Judge Loya's death will one day positively come out after an independent inquiry monitored by Supreme Court," Congress communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala told reporters, and wondered why those in power are "shying away from a probe" if they "agree it is a natural death". "The prime minister should say that he will order a Supreme Court-monitored probe to ascertain the exact reasons for the death of judge Loya," he said.
Earlier in the day, Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that the apex court's verdict will raise more questions.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud said there was no reason to doubt the statements of four judges on the circumstances leading to the judge's death and the documents placed on record and their scrutiny established that the death was due to natural cause.
Loya had died of cardiac arrest in Nagpur on December 1, 2014 when he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleague's daughter.
In the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, BJP President Amit Shah, Rajasthan Home Minister Gulabchand Kataria, Rajasthan-based businessman Vimal Patni, former Gujarat police chief P C Pande, Additional Director General of Police Geeta Johri and Gujarat police officers Abhay Chudasama and N K Amin, have already been discharged.
Here are the top 10 developments as Supreme Court dismisses pleas seeking an independent probe into CBI judge B H Loya's death:
1) Supreme Court website reportedly hacked, down minutes after Loya verdict: "Site under maintenance," read the message on the landing page of supremecourtofindia.nic.in.
"This site can't be reached," said another message on the page of the website maintained by the government-run National Informatics Centre (NIC) that creates e-governance applications. Earlier, the site flashed an error message "Err_Socket_Not_Connected" which means that the site was facing a Domain Name System error.
However, images of the website circulated on social media, apparently captured soon after the top court rejected pleas for an independent probe into the death of Judge B. H. Loya, showed that it may have been attacked by a Brazilian hack team.
Rahul Gandhi
✔
@RahulGandhi
Indians are deeply intelligent. Most Indians, including those in the BJP, instinctively understand the truth about Mr Amit Shah. The truth has its own way of catching up with people like him.
7:32 PM - Apr 19, 2018
7,553
4,991 people are talking about this
Twitter Ads info and privacy
2) SC ruling in Justice Loya case 'exposed' Congress, says Yogi: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath lauded the decision of the Supreme Court and also accused the Congress party of attempting to create a negative environment against the ruling government. "The verdict in Judge Loya case has exposed the Congress Party once again. Rahul Gandhi should apologise to the people of the country," Adityanath said.
ALSO READ: SC ruling in Justice Loya case 'exposed' Congress: Yogi
3) Sad letter day in India's history, says Congress on SC verdict: The Congress on Thursday raised questions over the Supreme Court verdict rejecting a batch of pleas seeking a probe into the alleged mysterious death of judge B H Loya.
Attacking the BJP for accusing Congress president Rahul Gandhi's as being the invisible hand behind the petitions seeking the probe, party spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala termed the allegations as a malicious attempt which showed the ruling party's jitteriness.
It is a sad letter day in India's history. The suspicious circumstances in which Loya died, was a matter of deep concern for those who have faith in the judiciary. The copy of the entire judgment is not yet available. But there are still questions before those who believe in the judiciary, Surjewala said.
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INC Sandesh
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Statement issued by AICC Communications In-charge @rssurjewala on Judge Loya's death.
3:50 PM - Apr 19, 2018
461
252 people are talking about this
Twitter Ads info and privacy
4) Rahul behind petitions, says BJP: The ruling BJP came down heavily on the Opposition after the Supreme Court dismissed the Loya death case petition. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said the petitions were filed with a political agenda.
"For some time, a few people were trying to politicise the judiciary. The court has slammed the petitioners who were demanding an SIT probe into the death of judge Loya," he said.
Accusing the Congress of being the "invisible political power or a political platform" behind the petition, Patra said it was an attempt to settle political rivalry.
"Who held a press conference on January 12, 2018? It was Rahul Gandhi. It will be true to say the invisible hand, the invisible body that the Supreme Court is talking about... is none other than Rahul Gandhi and the Congress," he said.
5) Cannot doubt the statement of lower court judge, says SC: Nishant Karketakar, Maharashtra Government Counsel in judge Loya’s death case while talking to reporters after the verdict said that the apex court came to a conclusion after examining all the documents related to the case that Judge Loya died a natural death.
"The court said that there was no chance to doubt the statement of the lower judges who were accompanying Judge Loya. The court has assumed that somewhere the image of the judiciary is being maligned," Karketakar said.
6) 'Attempt made to scandalise judiciary': The Bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and judges A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, which dismissed the pleas, said that attempts were made to scandalise the judiciary by levelling serious allegations against judicial officers and judges of the Bombay High Court.
7) Documents show judge Loya died of natural causes, says SC: The Bench further said that there was no reason to doubt the statements of the four judges on the circumstances leading up to the death of judge Loya, adding that the documents placed on record and their scrutiny established that the special CBI judge's death was due to natural causes.
8) Frivolous litigation filed to settle political scores, says SC: The Supreme Court said that with these petitions it became clear that a real attempt and a frontal attack was being made on the independence of the judiciary. The apex court also said that a frivolous and motivated litigation had been filed to settle a political score.
It also said that political battles should be fought in the "halls of democracy" and not inside court, reported Bar & Bench.
9) SC says petitioners in contempt of court but no action to be taken: The judgment made strong observations against the conduct and submissions of senior counsel Dushyant Dave, V Giri, and advocate Prashant Bhushan, reported Bar & Bench, adding that the Supreme Court stated the submissions of the petitioners prima facie amounted to criminal contempt of court. However, the court said that it was not initiating civil contempt against the petitioners for scandalising the judiciary.
Bar & Bench
@barandbench
10h
Replying to @barandbench
Aspersions were cast on Administrative Committee of High Court, even judges of this court were not spared, Supreme Court. #JudgeLoya.
Bar & Bench
@barandbench
Supreme Court stated that submissions of petitioners prima facie amounts to criminal contempt of court but not taking contempt action. #JudgeLoya.
11:05 AM - Apr 19, 2018
22
30 people are talking about this
Twitter Ads info and privacy
Bar & Bench
@barandbench
Replying to @barandbench
Strong observations in the judgment against conduct and submissions of Senior Counsel Dushyant Dave, V Giri and adv. Prashant Bhushan. #JudgeLoya
11:36 AM - Apr 19, 2018
15
29 people are talking about this
Twitter Ads info and privacy
10) Mukul Rohatgi says petitions were in 'personal interest': Commenting on the Supreme Court's verdict on Judge Loya's death, former attorney general Mukul Rohatgi told news agencies that "these petitioners did not uphold the rule of law". Rohatgi added, "The main aim was to attack some senior functionaries of the current government. There was no question of foul play. Petition had personal interest, not public interest."
View image on Twitter
View image on Twitter
ANI
✔
@ANI
These petitioners did not uphold the rule of law. Main aim was to attack some senior functionaries of the current government. There was no question of foul play. Petition had personal interest, not public interest: Mukul Rohatgi, Former AG on SC's verdict on #JudgeLoya Death case
11:54 AM - Apr 19, 2018
627
367 people are talking about this
Twitter Ads info and privacy
Loya's death came into the spotlight after media reports in November: Loya had allegedly died of cardiac arrest on December 1, 2014, in Nagpur, where he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleague's daughter. The issue of Loya's death had come under the spotlight in November last year after media reports quoting his sister fuelled suspicion about the circumstances surrounding it and its link to the Sohrabuddin Sheikh case. But Loya's son had on January 14 said in Mumbai that his father had died of natural causes.
Did sequence of events suggest foul play? Those seeking an independent probe into the matter had referred to the sequence of events related to judge Loya's death to highlight that a fair investigation was needed to rule out any foul play in his demise.
The judgment pronounced by Justice Chandrachud took exception to the way the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed and insinuations were made against the committee of administrators of the Bombay High Court and the judges of the Supreme Court in the course of the hearing.
But the court said it was not initiating civil contempt against the petitioner for scandalising the judiciary. It pulled up the petitioners for making unfounded allegations against the judicial officers which were extraneous to the issue.
"The PIL was misused with a political agenda that one man was behind everything. It is a matter of serious concern when court is faced with frivolous PILs and several genuine cases involving personal liberty of under-privileged are pending.
"It is a travesty of justice in the guise of demanding independence of judiciary as if there is a great danger to this institution," the court said.
"It gives a sense of anguish that the proceedings were converted to scandalise the judiciary bordering on contempt," the court said.
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