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Justice Loya case: Judge, counsel spar

Team SoOLEGAL 9 Mar 2018 12:52pm

Justice Loya case: Judge, counsel spar

New Delhi : Reacting strongly to Senior Counsel Dushyant Dave's remark, SC Justice D.Y. Chandrachud told the Senior Counsel that judges don't need certificates from lawyers and they will decide the case as per their conscience.

Justice D.Y. Chandrachud took strong exception to remark by senior advocate Dushyant Dave that the Bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra put forth explanations for every suspicion raised by him about the death of Judge Loya in December 2014 in Nagpur. To this Mr. Dave said why such questions are put to him and why did the bench not question when senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Maharashtra government, made his submissions.

“Sorry, Mr. Dave. There is no veneering of justice here. Our justice remains in our heart and our conscience. We do not require any certificate, especially from an arguing counsel... We will ask questions to the counsel when we want to... Sometimes we are so self-possessed with our own importance that we forget who is judge and who is lawyer,” Justice Chandrachud addressed Mr. Dave.

When Mr. Dave urged the court to order the State to file an affidavit on record, Justice Chandrachud replied that an affidavit now would only be an “improvement” or justification of the State’s position. The court, instead, would draw its conclusions from an impartial consideration of the documents filed in the case.

“What State says is not gospel truth for us. We will not be confined to what they say. We will make our own conclusions on the basis of documents submitted,” Justice Chandrachud observed.

In his rejoinder arguments for the Bombay Lawyers Association, Mr. Dave urged the apex court to reject the enquiry report of the Maharashtra government into Loya’s death. He mapped the quick succession of “unusual” events which followed the publication of a magazine article in 2017, three years after Loya's death.

These events included the then Bombay High Court Chief Justice giving permission to sitting judges, who had allegedly accompanied Loya in Nagpur, to provide statements for a State Intelligence enquiry into the death. Did the Chief Justice not first have to consult a full court before giving such permission? Mr. Dave asked.

Secondly, Mr. Dave said the enquiry report — held up as a “trump card” by the State government — was prepared without the investigating officer stepping out of his office. He asked the apex court to grant him permission to cross-examine the witnesses, including the judges who accompanied Loya, under a provision of the Supreme Court Rules. Mr. Dave submitted that since the State has failed to assist the Supreme Court, the Bench should order a “fiercely independent investigation” into the death.



Tagged: SC   Bombay HC   Justice Loya   Dushyant Dave  
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