Another HC judge pulls out of hearing on petition on B.H Loya's death
Nagpur, Nov 28: After a division bench recused itself from hearing a petition seeking a probe into CBI judge B H Loya's death, another judge of the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Wednesday withdrew from the case.
Loya, who was presiding over the trial of Sohrabuddin Shaikh alleged fake encounter in which BJP chief Amit Shah and some senior IPS officials were among the accused, died of a heart attack in 2014 while staying at the government guest house `Ravi Bhavan' in Nagpur.
Shah, who was Gujarat's Minister of State for Home at the time of the alleged fake encounter, was later discharged in the case.
A petition regarding Loya's death filed by advocate Satish Ukey came up before a bench of Justices S B Shukre and S M Modak here on November 26, but the judges said `not before them', meaning they will not hear it.
The petition was then assigned to a bench of Justices P N Deshmukh and Swapna Joshi. However, Justice Joshi recused herself from the case Wednesday.
Ukey's petition seeks that all records related to Loya's "suspicious" death be safeguarded, including those of the state guest house.
He has already moved a judicial magistrate's court in Nagpur seeking a probe into Loya's death.
Ukey told PTI that the chief justice of the Bombay High Court will now constitute a new bench to hear his plea before the high court.
Shaikh, a suspected gangster with terror links, was shot dead on November 26, 2005 while he was in the custody of Gujarat Police in an alleged fake encounter. His wife Kausar Bi was allegedly killed later.
Tulsiram Prajapati, his aide who was said to be a witness to the encounter, was allegedly killed in another fake encounter in December 2006.
Of the 38 people charged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for the alleged fake encounters, sixteen of them including Shah and all senior police officials were discharged.
The Supreme Court in April rejected petitions demanding an independent probe in Loya's death, holding he died of natural causes.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
