New Delhi: Terming the issue as "serious", the Supreme Court on Monday assured that it will look with "objectivity" the petitions demanding an inquiry into circumstances surrounding the death of CBI Judge BH Loya.
A bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, said that it will take a call on ordering a further investigation into the matter after looking at the facts and the records "dispassionately".
"If a judge in district judiciary has died and there are several media reports urging us to look at it and intervene, it becomes serious enough for is to examine...but we can't press our hands only on the basis of media reports. We will have to look at the matter with a sense of objectivity and we assure you about that," observed the bench, also comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud.
It fixed the matter for hearing next on February 2, asking all the parties in the matter to submit the pertinent documents available with them.
The court also ordered for transferring to itself two similar petitions pending in the Bombay High Court and restrained all other high courts from entertaining similar plea until the top court decides one way or the other.
The order came after senior advocates Harish Salve and Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Maharashtra government, tendered a confidential inquiry report in the court.
Salve informed the bench that after the publication of various media reports, a discreet inquiry was instituted to examine the circumstances in which Loya had died in December 2014.
According to the report, four judicial officers who accompanied Loya to the hospital after he complained of chest pain have denied any foul play in their statements. Salve said that this report was submitted to the Bombay HC chief justice on November 23, 2017.
Salve and Rohatgi argued that the report was unequivocal but the apex court was authorised to issue any appropriate directive.
At this juncture, senior advocate Dushyant Dave sought to intervene in the matter on behalf of a group of lawyers from Mumbai.
He alleged that an attempt was being made to conceal the real facts and highlighted that Loya was trying the politically sensitive Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter killing case when he was found dead under "mysterious circumstances".
Dave also claimed that Salve had once appeared for BJP president Amit Shah in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh case and thus he should not appear for the state government now.
Salve retorted that he didn't need Dave's sermons on propriety while Rohatgi maintains Dave was not even a party in the case.
Justice Chandrachud then responded: "All of you are holders of your own conscience. Bar association of a judge can't tell you to appear or not to appear. It is for you to ask your conscience and we can't tell you anything whether you should appear for a party or not".
The judge also said that he would want all the relevant records be placed before the court so that his conscience doesn't tell him later that he didn't look at everything and objectively before deciding it.
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