CJI Dipak Misra’s bench to hear Judge Loya case on Monday | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
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CJI Dipak Misra’s bench to hear Judge Loya case on Monday

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByAshok Bagriya
Jan 21, 2018 09:31 AM IST

Besides the CJI, justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud will be on the bench, according to the list of business released by the Supreme Court registry on Saturday

Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra will hear the Loya case — two public interest litigations demanding an independent probe into the death of special CBI court judge BH Loya who died in 2014.

Chief Justice of India, Justice Dipak Misra addressing at the inauguration of the National Law Day, 2017 in New Delhi.(PTI File Photo)
Chief Justice of India, Justice Dipak Misra addressing at the inauguration of the National Law Day, 2017 in New Delhi.(PTI File Photo)

The Loya case is seen as the trigger for the four senior Supreme Court judges — Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, MB Lokur and Kurian Joseph — to go public with their criticism of CJI Misra for allocating sensitive cases to junior judges. Judge Loya, then presiding over the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case, died in Nagpur on December 1, 2014. Current BJP president Amit Shah was named in the case but in December the same year, he was discharged by the court.

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Besides the CJI, Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud will be on the bench, according to the list of business released by the Supreme Court registry on Saturday.

The fresh twist in the case comes four days after a bench of Justices Arun Misra and MM Shantanagoudar ordered the listing of the Loya case before an “appropriate bench,” triggering speculation that they had withdrawn themselves from hearing it.

On Friday, the CJI ordered that the matter be put up before an appropriate bench as per roster but there was uncertainty over who would hear it. Lawyers for the petitioners — Tehseen Poonawala and Mumbai-based journalist BR Lone — mentioned the matter before the CJI.

Lone’s advocate Anita Shenoy said she went to the CJI’s court to apprise him about the last order in the case and seek a date for hearing.

“On January 16, Justice Arun Misra had said the matter should be listed before an appropriate bench after a week. It was, therefore, mentioned to the chief who said the case would be now be heard by the bench as per roster,” Shenoy explained.

The two public interest litigations (PILs) demand an independent probe into the death of Judge Loya. The petitions were originally listed before a bench headed by Justice Arun Misra.

On January 16, the bench headed by Justice Arun Misra heard the matter directing the Maharashtra government to share details of the police investigation into Judge Loya’s death with the petitioners and also passed an order for listing of the case before an appropriate bench.

In the SC a roster system is followed to mark cases to benches that sit in the combination of two judges. Roster is notified by the SC registry after the CJI approves it. However, the roster is not made public and even lawyers are unaware of the same.

When a “sensitive matter” or PIL is filed the SC registry brings it to the notice of the CJI who then takes a call on who will hear it.

Justice Arun Misra’s January 16 order, fuelling apprehensions over him hearing the case again came a day after he broke down at a morning tea meet of SC judges where he expressed his anguish at being collateral damage in the fight between the four senior judges and the CJI because their allegations cast aspersions on his abilities.

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