A delegation of opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) from 15 parties on Friday approached the President of India Ram Nath Kovind, seeking an Supreme Court-monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into CBI judge BH Loya’s death.
Loya, who was hearing the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case, had died allegedly of cardiac arrest in Nagpur on December 1, 2014 when he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleague’s daughter. After the delegation met Kovind, they presented him with a memorandum signed by 114 MPs, seeking a probe into BH Loya’s death.
While talking to media after leading the delegation to the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Congress President Rahul Gandhi said the President Kovind had given a positive response to their demands.
Loya, was hearing the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case, in which Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah was an accused, but he was later acquitted.
The Congress chief said “Judge Loya’s death was suspicious and there were two more suspicious deaths related to the case”. Many MPs from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha felt discomfort over his death. We want a SIT probe in the case, he said.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi addresses the media after meeting with @rashtrapatibhvn along with opposition parties demanding an investigation into Judge Loya’s death. #JusticeLoyaCase pic.twitter.com/VdcRoy29gi
— Congress (@INCIndia) February 9, 2018
On their demand for an SIT probe Rahul Gandhi said a judge died under suspicious circumstances. It will be an ode to him and his family that the investigation takes place properly
Earlier, during the hearing in the Supreme Court on pleas seeking independent probe into the death of the judge, there were unruly scenes with lawyers from the opposing sides exchanging barbs.
Such was the commotion that the apex court warned that the courtroom should not be reduced to the level of a “fish market” following a heated verbal duel between two senior lawyers Dushyant Dave and Pallav Shishodia.