Loya death case: Review petition filed in SC

A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking review of its verdict rejecting the demand for an independent probe into the death of special Central Bureau of Investigation judge B H Loya, who dealt with the high-profile Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case.

The review petition filed by Bombay Lawyers Association has challenged the apex court's April 19 judgment by which it had dismissed a batch of pleas and brought the curtains down on the raging debate over Loya's death.

The judge 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 its April 19 verdict, the apex court bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra had ruled that Loya died of "natural causes" and there was no ground for the court to hold that there was reasonable suspicion about the cause or circumstances of death which would merit a further inquiry.

The review petition filed in the apex court has said this judgement "has resulted in miscarriage of justice, if not complete negation of justice on the facts of the case. It is therefore clearly required in the interests of justice that the judgment and order in question be reviewed and recalled."

"The present review petition seek to neither sensationalise the subject matter of the petition, nor make a veiled attempt to launch a frontal attack on independence of the judiciary or to dilute the credibility of judicial institutions.

"Also, no attempt is being made to create prejudice or malign dignity of the judges whose statements form part of the enquiry or those who gave the press interviews on the matter during the period of the enquiry,” the plea said.