Probe On Justice Loya's Death Very Important: 32 Civil Servants Write To Chief Justice Of India

Thirty-two signatories, including retired officials of the Government of India, appealed to the Chief Justice of India and Chief Justice of Bombay High Court to order a high-level probe on the death of Judge Brijgopal Harkishan Loya, who was investigating the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case.

The signatories attached the appeal made by former Navy Chief Admiral (Retd.) L. Ramdas. The Navy demanded a detailed investigation on the former Central Bureau Of Investigation’s judge’s suspicious death. He stated that the “inaction” following the revelations made by his family is “surprising”. The letter is addressed to Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra and Chief Justice of Bombay, Justice Manjula Chellur.

The signatories also cited requests made by retired Bombay High Court judge BH Marlapalle and former Delhi High Court Chief Justice AP Shah. The Latur Bar Association, Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the Communist Party of India (Marxists) also demanded a probe into the issue.

Letter stated

According to The Wire, the letter stated,

“We, the undersigned retired civil servants, would like to place on record our support for the request made by Admiral (Retd.) L. Ramdas to institute a “high-level judicial inquiry” into this matter and urge you to take appropriate action for all the reasons mentioned in his representation.”

The admiral in the letter said “The silence of the two judges who apparently persuaded the late Judge Loya to travel to Nagpur, and accompanied him, is disturbing, to say the least.” He further added, “A judicial probe at this point, at least to respond to the queries raised by the family, and to uphold the image of the judiciary in the eyes of the people of India, is absolutely necessary.”

Background

Loya was the special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) judge presiding over the trail of BJP top chief Amit Shah and several top officers in the Gujarat police for the allegedly fake encounter of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife Kauser Bi in 2005.

Shah was arrested by the CBI in July 2010 in connection with the alleged staged shooting. In 2014, he was discharged by the Mumbai special CBI court.

Apart from raising questions about Loya’s death, his sister Anuradha Biyani claimed that Justice Mohit Shah, the then Chief Justice of Bombay High Court had offered Loya a bribe of Rs 100 crore in return for a favourable judgement.

The Signatories

1. S.P. Ambrose, IAS (Retd.), former Additional Secretary, Ministry of Shipping and Transport, GoI
2. Ishrat Aziz, IFS (Retd.), former Ambassador to Brazil
3. G. Balagopal, IAS (Retd.), former Resident Representative, UNICEF, North Korea
4. Sundar Burra, IAS (Retd.), former Secretary, Government of Maharashtra
5. Kalyani Chaudhuri, IAS (Retd.), former Additional Chief Secretary, Government of West Bengal
6. Vibha Puri Das, IAS (Retd.), former Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, GoI
7. Keshav Desiraju, IAS (Retd.), former Health Secretary, GoI
8. M.G. Devasahayam, IAS (Retd.), former Secretary to Government of Haryana
9. Sushil Dubey, IFS (Retd.), former Ambassador to Sweden
10. K.P.Fabian, IFS (Retd.), former Ambassador to Italy
11. Meena Gupta, IAS (Retd.), former Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests, GoI
12. Deepa Hari, IRS (Resigned)
13. Dr Sajjad Hassan, IAS (Retd.), former Commissioner (Planning), Govt. of Manipur
14. K. John Koshy, IAS (Retd.), former State Chief Information Commissioner, West Bengal
15. Ajai Kumar, Indian Forest Service (Resigned), former Director, Ministry of Agriculture, GoI
16. Arun Kumar, IAS (Retd.), former Chairman, National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority
17. Harsh Mander, IAS (Retd.), Government of Madhya Pradesh
18. Aditi Mehta, IAS (Retd.), former Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Rajasthan
19. Sunil Mitra, IAS (Retd.), former Secretary, Ministry of Finance, GoI
20. Deb Mukharji, IFS (Retd.), former Ambassador to Nepal
21. Anup Mukerji, IAS (Retd.), former Chief Secretary, Government of Bihar
22. Alok Perti, IAS (Retd.) former Secretary, Ministry of Coal, GoI
23. N.K. Raghupathy, IAS (Retd.), former Chairman, Staff Selection Commission, GoI
24. Aruna Roy, IAS (Resigned)
25. Manab Roy, IAS (Retd.), former Additional Chief Secretary, Government of West Bengal
26. Umrao Salodia, IAS (Retd.), former Chairman, Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation, Government of Rajasthan
27. Deepak Sanan, IAS (Retd.), former Principal Adviser (AR) to the Chief Minister of the Government of Himachal Pradesh
28. E.A.S. Sarma, IAS, (Retd.), former Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, GoI
29. Dr N.C.Saxena, IAS (Retd.), former Secretary, Planning Commission, GoI
30. Ardhendu Sen, IAS (Retd.), former Chief Secretary, Government of West Bengal
31. Dr Raju Sharma, IAS (Retd.), former Member, Board of Revenue, Government of Uttar Pradesh
32. Jawhar Sircar, IAS (Retd.), former Secretary, Ministry of Culture, GoI, and CEO, Prasar Bharati

Also read, Son Says No Foul Play In Justice Loya’s Death; What Has Happened So Far