SC to hear on Tuesday plea for recall of Judge Loya case judgment
New Delhi, July 28 : The Supreme Court will hear, on July 31, a plea of Bombay Lawyers Association seeking a review and recall of its judgment that held that Special CBI Court Judge B.H. Loya had met with natural death and that a PIL was misused for advancing political agenda and to scandalise the judiciary.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, which had earlier rejected the plea for a SIT probe into the judge's death, will hear the plea on Tuesday.
The top court in its April 19 judgment had said: "It gives a sense of anguish that the proceedings were converted to scandalise the judiciary bordering on contempt."
The Bombay Lawyers Association was one of the petitioners who pleaded for a Special Investigation Team probe into the death, which the Supreme Court declined.
When Judge Loya died of a cardiac failure on December 1, 2014, he was conducting a trial in a case related to the alleged staged shootout killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh in November 2005.
Now Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah was one of the accused in the case but was later discharged.
The recall plea filed by senior counsel Dushyant Dave said that the "judgment and order passed by this court requires serious reconsideration and upon such reconsideration deserve to be recalled in the interest of justice and in larger public interest".
He contended that the top court committed an error by relying on the report of Commissioner, Intelligence -- a police officer -- who had conducted an enquiry and reached the conclusion that Judge Loya died of natural causes and that the case did not require an independent investigation.
"It is submitted that in this country, statements made before police officers are not admissible in the eyes of law. Therefore, the inquiry report could not have been placed on a higher pedestal than what law permits and demands," said the plea.
Holding as "erroneous" the finding that the Maharashtra government was authorised to hold an inquiry, the review plea contended that it was a "purely internal administrative inquiry" which was "secretive" and without any legal footing.
The death of Judge Loya demands an "independent inquiry" under the Commission of Enquiry Act, 1952, or ordered by the High Court or Supreme Court in exercise of its extraordinary powers.
Such an "open and transparent" inquiry, the review plea said, should be in accordance with the principles of natural justice, involving the summoning of witnesses, cross-examining them, recording evidence and permitting parties to adduce evidence.
This point was advanced before the top court in the course of the hearing of PILs that sought SIT probe into Judge Loya's death but were rejected.
That the judgment needs to be recalled, the review plea says "in as much as it proceeds on the premise that once statements of the judges are recorded by the Commissioner Intelligence, the same must be accepted and cannot be questioned by anybody".
Questioning the veracity of the statements of the judges in the Judge Loya death case, the plea maintained that "such questioning does not amount to either disrespect of the judges, much less a wanton attack on the independence of judiciary".
The inquiry report prepared by the Commissioner Intelligence, the review plea said, "when viewed in the light of freely recorded video interviews of Judge Loya's father and sisters, appears to be a sham and a clear attempt to obstruct justice".
"The father and the sisters had spoken about the pressure on late Judge Loya (and) the offers of bribe to him," said the review petition.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
IPL first phase schedule announced amid travel concerns caused by war in West Asia
New Delhi (PTI): Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 opener in Bengaluru on March 28 as the BCCI announced the first phase of the tournament schedule amid concerns around players' travel arrangements due to the ongoing West Asia conflict.
All matches scheduled at the Chinnaswamy Stadium remain subject to clearance from the Karnataka government appointed expert committee, which is scheduled to meet on March 13 to assess venue preparedness in the wake of the deadly stampede at the stadium last season.
The BCCI announced the schedule of the first 20 games on Wednesday and will unveil the full schedule once the dates of elections in three states -- Tamil Nadu, Assam and West Bengal -- are announced.
Besides the state elections, the escalating conflict in West Asia will also be at the forefront of BCCI officials' minds. The war has wreaked havoc to international travel with operations of major airports like Doha and Dubai being heavily restricted.
As a result of that, some of the squad members of South Africa and West Indies are yet to reach home a week after the completion of their T20 World Cup campaign.
It remains to be seen if IPL bound players of those two nations report to their respective teams in time.
"There was a substantial delay in departure of West Indies and South Africa players. It would be a tough task to get them back to India on time. Plus the airfares have gone up substantially due to the war in West Asia," a team official told PTI.
Additionally, hotels across India are facing cooking gas shortage due to the raging conflict and on Tuesday, the central government invoked Essential Commodities Act to ensure uninterrupted supply of domestic cooking gas.
Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanthan told PTI that he is expecting his players from the West Indies and South Africa -- Akeal Hossein and Dewald Brevis, to join the team well before their IPL opener.
"We are expecting no delays from their end," he said.
The second game of the opening weekend will see Mumbai Indians host Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium and the opening weekend will not feature any double-headers.
A total of 20 matches will be played across 10 venues: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
"During the season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five home matches in Bengaluru and two in Raipur. Punjab Kings will play four home matches in New Chandigarh and three in Dharamshala, while Rajasthan Royals will play three home matches in Guwahati and four in Jaipur," said the BCCI in a statement.
"During this period (the first 16 days), the tournament will feature four double-headers, with the afternoon matches beginning at 03:30 PM IST and the evening matches commencing at 07:30 PM IST.
"Following the opening encounter on Saturday, Mumbai Indians will take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
"The matches scheduled in Bengaluru are subject to clearance from the Expert Committee constituted by the Government of Karnataka," the BCCI added.
