Judge Loya's death: SC reserves verdict on pleas for independent probe

The Supreme Court on Friday reserved its verdict on a batch of pleas seeking an independent probe into the alleged mysterious death of special CBI Judge B.H. Loya.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud reserved the verdict after an hearing all the parties in the case.

A batch of partitions were filed by activist Tehseen Poonawala, the Bombay Lawyers Association, Maharashtra-based journalist Bandhuraj Sambhaji Lone, NGO Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) and others seeking an independent probe into Judge Loya's death.

Judge Loya was holding trial in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh staged shootout case in which present Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah was an accused. Later, Shah was discharged in the case. Judge Loya died in November 2014.

The Maharashtra government has objected to the petitions seeking an independent probe into the death of Judge Loya saying the pleas were obliquely motivated, based on unverified media reports and were being orchestrated "because there is a particular functionary of a political party".

During the hearing, the Bombay Lawyers Association told the Supreme Court that the late Judge Loya's family might have been coerced into saying that they do not want fresh probe into his death, but suspicious circumstances surrounding it warrants an independent probe.

Pointing to "too many coincidences" around the death of Judge Loya, senior counsel Dushyant Dave, appearing for the association, had recounted the sequence of events and told the that "there is a suspicion around the death of Judge Loya".