Judge Loya: “Either the court will have to say that the four judges are lying or the case has to be dismissed”, Mukul Rohatgi

The hearing in the petitions seeking probe into the death of Judge Loya continued in Supreme Court today before the Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud..The hearing today was largely uneventful except for brief but heated exchange between Senior Advocates Indira Jaising and Mukul Rohatgi..Senior Advocate Indira Jaising today argued for Admiral Ramdas..Jaising’s arguments revolved around non-compliance with Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the discrepancies in statements of four judges and the records available..“The name of the deceased judge is reflected as Brijmohan Harkishan Loya in at least ten documents but his name is Brijgopal Harkishan Loya. How can such a mistake be made in ten documents when the four judges were said to be with him. This raises suspicion.”.Jaising also raised other issues including the doubts surrounding ECG, transfer of the judge who was hearing the case before Loya and the health of Judge Loya..“There is no clarity on whether ECG was done or not. The contradiction on whether ECG was done is sufficient to raise suspicion…..The judge (hearing the Sohrabuddin encounter case) was transferred one day before the hearing. The administrative committee, in fact, sat one day before the hearing to make the transfer.”.As the hearing progressed, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the State of Maharashtra, intervened and stated that the petitions are ill-founded and motivated..“These petitions are ill-founded and motivated. Four judges have given their statements. Either the Court will have to say they are lying or the petitions have to be dismissed.”.Rohatgi also came down upon media reports in relation to Loya case terming it ‘yellow journalism’..“Call it yellow, blue or red. It is your choice”, was Jaising’s response..After Jaising’s submissions, Senior Advocate PS Surendranath and advocate Resmitha Chandran advanced arguments on behalf of All India Lawyers Union. Surendranath while batting for an SIT probe also made some additional prayers..It was his submission that judges hearing sensational cases involving political and executive heavyweights or influential people should be provided with “Z” category security..Further, he also sought action against those abusing the process of PIL. The example of Bandhuraj Sambhaji Lone, who had also filed a petition for probe into the matter but had curiously changed his stance midway, was cited by Surendranath to buttress his case..“The written brief submitted in WP (c) 20/2018 to which the applicant herein sought impleadment, reveals that the intention of the petitioner is not to facilitate free flow of justice and judicial process but to frustrate the same by way of pre-emptive action.”.After Surendranath, advocate Kuldeep Rai argued for intervener, Youth Bar Association of India. Rai told the Court that apart from the death of judge Loya, the death of lawyer activist Khandalkar and Judge (Retired) Thombre should also be probed..After Rai made his submissions, the Court rose for the day. The matter will now be heard on Monday next week.