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Judge Loya death case: CJI says there will be ground for suspicion if Section 174 CrPC has not been duly complied with

Published

7 years ago

on

supreme court

The Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud on Monday (February 12) continued hearing the plea seeking independent probe into the mysterious death of Justice B G Loya who was handling the Sohrabuddin Seikh fake encounter killing case.

In Monday (February 19) senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the State of Maharashtra, continued his defence.

He said that the whole of 30th, they (the judges) stayed in Nagpur AND MOVED TO Ravi Bhawan that night. At night the judge (Loya) had complained of distress and was rushed to Dande hospital where they spent 15-20 minutes and an ECG was taken.

Waikar also reaches there, continued Rohatgi. “There they met Dr Pankaj Harkutt who is a cardiologist and are advised to go to Medetirina which is 2-2.5 km from there. Unfortunately at the next hospital he was declared “brought dead”, hence he did not die in Medetirina.

“If we had to discount everything what the four judges said then we have the postmortem report. The postmortem was done in a government hospital and then the body was taken to Ghategaon,” he said.

Then Rohatgi was back at castigating the published article. He said: “The intention behind the appearance of the article is questionable itself.” He referred to page 19 and submitted the Marathi version first. “Whatever is written in the article appears to be false and unverified, which appeared three years after the death.”

Then Rohatgi read out a postmortem report – Department of Forensic Science, Govt of India, Nagpur report. “As per police, at 1:12 am he suddenly complained of chest pain. At 4:00 am, he was brought to the hospital and was declared dead.”

Also, the report talks about the jurisdiction of the police station. The main centre for the postmortem is Sitamarhi. Then the counsel submitted various angles of the reason why any particular hospital was chosen.

At the bottom of the page is the nakal bayan (or witness) who is Prashant Rathi. The time of death is 16:00 hours. Whereas in item 1, the time of death was 4:00 hours.

The bill of Medetirina is referred to, wherein Dr Pankaj Harkutt is the referred doctor. “Judge Srikant Kulkarni was present when Judge Loya was admitted to the hospital,” Rohatgi reads. “When the ailing judge’s name was entered as Brij Mohan and not Brij Gopal. Hence the change in name in medical report is just a mistake of dictation on the part of judge Kulkarni.”

He referred to the CG fiasco. “For a layman, any impulse taken by the ECG machine nodule, the ECG is recorded. Hence, one of the judges said that the ECG was taken and recorded. ECG was not done is not a conclusive fact in this case. There is disparity in the views regarding ECG.”

Page 59A was referred to, containing the statement of the father of Judge Loya.

He also tried to debunk the political angle, saying that the “Ishwar Vahiti concerned here was Justice Loya’s friend and not the one who is associated with the RSS.”

Senior counsel Indira Jaising, on the opposing side, submitted that nobody denies in this case that ECG was not attempted but it could not be done. She said that the article was preceded by a dismissal order of the person by the Supreme Court, which happened 2-3 months ago.”

Rohtagi submitted that “only because Vahiti  was a friend and that too close, he was handed over Judge Loya’s body. He established his close relationship with Judge Loya in court.”

He explained: “Maharashtra is divided into ten commissionarates and 67 districts.” He place before the court a judgment in which in Maharashtra special powers are given to ACPs to conduct the investigation. He submitted that the investigation was carried out properly and there was nothing suspicious about the natural death of the Judge Loya which was only due to heart attack. He agains raised the question as to why a petition has been file in the Supreme Court after a long time.

He submitted that there was nothing wrong in procedure as well, because as per the Bombay police manual of 1959 a police officer is authorised to conduct investigation in the case of suspicious deaths.

Senior advocate Dushyant Dave stated his submissions. He said that the pressure which is built in this case is important to be considered and so it becomes important to issue judicial notice. He also said that things were not always as it appears on the record and as this case is related with the death of a judge. “Hence it should be considered seriously.”

He said that it was necessary that documents are brought under oath. “This is not a politically motivated matter,” he said.

Rohatgi interfered, saying: “It’s not written anywhere that in every writ petition, rejoinders, etc must be recorded.”

To which Dave said: “Until we have the documents on the affidavits, justice won’t be served because the judges will not be able to judge independently. The State has nothing else to show. How can Rathi reply on 23rd itself?”

At this the CJI commented: “The question is whether section 174 CrPC has been duly complied with or not. This could be a ground of suspicion.”

Dave said: “The state failed in providing proper security to Judge Loya, did not even provide proper medical services, also, post death, the real cause of death was not figured out by the state.”

The matter is again listed for March 5

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Amit Shah hails Sukma encounter where 16 Maoists were killed, reiterates 2026 target to end Maoism

Union Home Minister Amit Shah hailed the killing of 16 Maoists in Sukma and reiterated the Modi government’s commitment to ending Maoist violence by March 2026.

Published

7 mins ago

on

March 29, 2025

By

Amit Shah

In a significant breakthrough in anti-Maoist efforts, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday lauded security forces for a major operation in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district, where 16 Maoists were killed and a large cache of automatic weapons seized.

Describing the operation as one of the biggest in Sukma’s history, Shah emphasized that the central government remains firmly committed to ending Maoist violence by March 31, 2026.

“Another strike on Naxalism! Our security agencies have neutralised 16 Naxalites and recovered a massive cache of automatic weapons in an operation in Sukma,” Shah wrote on X. He further appealed to those still involved in Maoist activities to give up violence, stating, “Weapons and violence cannot bring change; only peace and development can.”

Joint anti-Maoist operation marks major success

The encounter involved coordinated action by the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), based on specific intelligence inputs. Officials said the joint team launched the operation on March 28 in the Kerlapal area of Sukma, leading to an exchange of fire that continued into Saturday morning.

Sukma Superintendent of Police Kiran Chavan confirmed the recovery of the bodies of 16 Maoists and the seizure of advanced weapons including AK-47s, Self-Loading Rifles (SLRs), and INSAS rifles. He added that two security personnel were injured during the operation and are receiving medical care.

The identities of the slain Maoists are yet to be established, and search operations are underway across the surrounding forest areas.

Maoist violence on decline, says Shah

Citing Parliament data, Shah recently highlighted a sharp decline in Maoist violence over the last decade. Between 2004 and 2014, there were 16,463 violent incidents, which fell by 53% in the subsequent ten years.

The number of security personnel martyred dropped from 1,851 to 509—a 73% decline—while civilian casualties reduced by 70%, from 4,766 to 1,495.

Highlighting development in Maoist-affected regions, Shah said 11,503 km of highways and 20,000 km of rural roads have been constructed since 2014. Furthermore, over 4,800 mobile towers have been installed in two phases, with another 4,000 underway, aiming to ensure full mobile connectivity by December 1.

Sukma, situated in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region, has long been a hotbed of Maoist activity. However, security forces’ intensified operations and government-led development initiatives are steadily reclaiming ground from insurgents.

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Major financial changes from April 1 as new tax slabs, UPI rules and GST updates kick in

Published

25 mins ago

on

March 29, 2025

By

UPI

As the new financial year begins on April 1, 2025, several key financial and regulatory changes will come into effect that will impact salaried individuals, pensioners, UPI users, and businesses alike.

Revised income tax slabs bring relief to middle-income earners

Under the new tax regime announced in the Union Budget, individuals earning up to ₹12 lakh annually will be exempt from paying income tax. The revised slab also includes a standard deduction of ₹75,000, effectively exempting those with an annual salary up to ₹12.75 lakh from taxes.

Here is the new tax structure:

  • Up to Rs 4 lakh – No tax
  • Rs 4 lakh to Rs 8 lakh – 5%
  • Rs 8 lakh to Rs 12 lakh – 10%
  • Rs 12 lakh to Rs 16 lakh – 15%
  • Rs 16 lakh to Rs 20 lakh – 20%
  • Rs 20 lakh to Rs 24 lakh – 25%
  • Above Rs 24 lakh – 30%

Unified Pension Scheme promises post-retirement stability for government staff

The Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), launched in August 2024, will come into force from April 1. The scheme is aimed at benefiting around 23 lakh central government employees. Those who have served for 25 years or more will be entitled to a pension equal to 50% of their average basic salary over the last 12 months, offering a more secure retirement.

UPI security tightened with inactive number purge

To enhance digital payment security, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has issued guidelines for banks and UPI service providers to phase out inactive mobile numbers linked with UPI.

From April 1, UPI platforms are mandated to use the Mobile Number Revocation List (MNRL) and Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP) to regularly update user data—at least once a week. Users with inactive numbers are advised to update their mobile details with their banks to prevent loss of UPI access or potential misuse.

GST filing and authentication norms become stricter

In the GST domain, multi-factor authentication (MFA) will become mandatory for users logging into the GST portal, improving data security. Further updates include:

  • E-Way Bills (EWB) will be restricted to documents not older than 180 days.
  • GSTR-7 filings for Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) must now be filed in sequence with no skipping of months.
    Promoters and directors will be required to visit a GST Suvidha Kendra for biometric verification.

These changes are part of broader efforts to streamline compliance and secure financial systems as the country enters the new fiscal year.

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Supreme Court seeks reply from Uttarakhand, J&K on Jitendra Tyagi’s plea to club cases

Facing hate speech cases in Uttarakhand and J&K, Jitendra Tyagi seeks Supreme Court relief citing life threats and legal pressure.

Published

28 mins ago

on

March 29, 2025

By

Jitendra Tyagi

Former UP Shia Waqf Board chief Jitendra Narayan Tyagi (formerly Wasim Rizvi) has approached the Supreme Court seeking the clubbing of multiple criminal cases filed against him in Uttarakhand and Jammu & Kashmir for alleged hate speeches and derogatory remarks against Islam and the Muslim community.

The Supreme Court bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta on Friday issued notices to the governments of Uttarakhand and the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir, asking for a reply within four weeks.

Tyagi, who is facing at least four separate cases, including FIRs and private complaints, has requested that all proceedings be consolidated at a single location, citing grave security threats if he is forced to travel, especially to Jammu & Kashmir. In his plea, he stated that he has only two security guards despite “serious life threats” and that “appearing before the courts in J&K could be fatal.”

During the hearing, Tyagi’s lawyer Anurag Kishore sought interim protection from the court, citing life threats. However, the bench declined the request, remarking that “threats exist everywhere.”

Initially hesitant, the court agreed to examine the plea and issue formal notices to the respective state authorities.

Background of the cases

Tyagi is currently facing multiple criminal proceedings:

An FIR in Haridwar for allegedly making defamatory remarks about Prophet Muhammad during the release of his book Muhammad in June 2021.

A private complaint in Srinagar, J&K, over alleged insulting remarks against Islam made in a July 2021 TV broadcast from Lucknow.

An FIR in Haridwar from December 2021 for statements made at the Dharma Sansad, a religious event.

A third FIR in January 2022 also in Uttarakhand, based on similar allegations.

Tyagi, who converted from Islam to Hinduism, has been a controversial figure and has previously made inflammatory remarks, triggering legal and public backlash.

His legal team, comprising Anurag Kishore, Lakhan Kumar Mishra, and Ritika Shrivastava, argued that the multiplicity of cases and summons across different states poses not only a logistical burden but also a serious threat to his safety.

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