Judge Loya Death: BJP Demands Apology From Rahul After SC Dismisses Petition Seeking SIT Probe; Congress Says Will Fight Another Day

BJP seeks apology from Congress for dragging court while settling scores.

New Delhi, April 18: The Supreme Court’s dismissal of a petition seeking an independent probe into the death of Judge BH Loya on Thursday evoked sharp reactions from all quarters. At a press conference, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said the PIL was actually a “Political Interest Litigation”. He pointed out that the court said that it appeared the PIL was filed over some political rivalry.

Patra added there couldn’t be a more scathing comment on political parties, and especially Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, who used the court to settle political scores. He said it was a “new low” in Indian politics that the Congress used its “invisible hand” to scheme and plot against the BJP. Rahul should apologise to the nation for making this attempt in dragging the judiciary into this, he said.

Speaking next, Gaurav Bhatia said while the verdict also points at certain lawyers who go to court not to practise but to threaten the judge. He said the Congress should now apologise and accept that it made a mistake and also stop character assassination that the party indulged in.

One of the petitioners’ advocates Prashant Bhushan called the judgement a “black day in the history of the judiciary”.  He said the court based its judgement on the affidavit of judges but it didn’t take into account the ECG report that rejected the heart attack theory.

WATCH | “It is a wrong judgement. It’s a black day for the institution”: @pbhushan1 on the Supreme Court rejecting petitions for an independent investigation into #JudgeLoya case

Read more here: https://t.co/Dxev2K2Vcj
Updates here: https://t.co/kObcMd1Dz3pic.twitter.com/S1UGzYwuZ0

— NDTV (@ndtv) April 19, 2018

Speaking to ANI, petitioner and Congress leader Tehseen Poonawalla said though the Supreme Court verdict is binding on all, “the fact of the matter is whether there were lacunae in the inquiry…and if that has been addressed”.

Meanwhile, Caravan, the magazine that did a series of stories raising doubts over Justice Loya’s death, said it would stand by all its stories. Caravan executive editor Vinod K Jose wrote on his twitter that the “stories speak for itself”.

Will have to wait till one reads the whole judgment on the specifics. But Caravan magazine stands by each of its 22 stories. The stories speak for itself. And we will follow journalistically the qns that continue to puzzle the circumstances of Judge Loya’s death.

— Vinod K. Jose (@vinodjose) April 19, 2018

Earlier in the day, while delivering the judgement, Justice DY Chandrachud had said that political rivalries should be settled outside the court. Judge Loya was trying the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case at the time of his death.