Judge Loya case: Supreme Court reserves verdict on batch of petitions seeking independent probe into Loya's death

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 BH Loya, who was hearing the high-profile Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, when he allegedly died of a cardiac arrest in Nagpur on 1 December, 2014.

Loya was in Nagpur to attend the wedding of a colleague's daughter. However, an article in the Caravan magazine raised suspicions over his death, and pointed to inconsistencies in accounts about his death, and the condition of the body when it was handed over to the family.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud reserved their verdict after an elaborate hearing.

File image of Supreme Court. Reuters

The petitions seeking a probe into Loya's death were opposed by the Maharashtra government. The Nagpur police has stated that Loya died due to a heart attack, and there was no cause for suspicion.

Earlier, advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), an intervenor in the case, said that medical reports were shown to doctors and forensic experts, who were of the opinion that there was no sign of a heart attack.

"If there was no sign that Loya suffered a heart attack, what made the judges who were accompanying him believe that he had one?" Bhushan asked.

He said the two judges of the Bombay High Court, in their statement, had said that Loya complained of chest pain in the wee hours of 1 December, 2014.

"Does this not mean that he may have died due to poisoning? Because in poisoning also, there are similar symptoms of chest congestion and blood flow stops to the heart," he said.

Bhushan said that two sitting judges of the high court also gave their statements regarding the death and this indicates that they are witness to the case.

The Supreme Court on 19 February said it was treating the case regarding Loya's death with "utmost seriousness" and considered it as a "cause", irrespective of what was said outside the courtroom.

With inputs from PTI