TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2018 (4) TMI 1855
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
...., Adv., Mr.Rohit Ghosh, Adv., Mr.Ibad Mushtaq, Adv., Ms.Ajita Sharma, Adv., Mr.Nishant R.Katneshwarkar, Adv. In I.A.No.15548/18 : Mr.Sanpreet Singh Ajmani, Adv., Mr.Kuldeep Rai, Adv., Mr.Jayesh Gaurav, Adv., Mr.Emamuddin Azmi, Adv., Mr.Ankur Jain, Adv., Mr.Anubav, Adv., Mr.Ajay Sharma, Adv., Mr.Ajit Sharma, Adv., Mr.Prashant Bhushan, Adv., Mr.Prakash Kumar Singh, Adv. JUDGMENT Dr. D.Y. Chandrachud, J. A The Context 1. In the batch of petitions before this Court, the Petitioners seek an inquiry into the circumstances of the death of Brijgopal Harikishan Loya. He was a judicial officer in the State of Maharashtra in the rank of a district judge and died on 1 December 2014. Articles on his death were published in the issues of Caravan magazine dated 20 and 21 November 2017. The first Article was titled "A family breaks its silence: shocking details emerge in death of judge presiding over Sohrabuddin trial". 2. Since the petitions are founded on the two articles published in Caravan, it would be necessary to extract them in this judgment: (i) Caravan Article dated 20 November 2017: On the morning of 1 December 2014, the family of 48-year-old judge Brijgopal Harkis....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....Nagpur. It was the last call that Loya is known to have made, and the last conversation that he is known to have had. His family received the news of his death early the next morning. His wife in Mumbai, myself in Latur city and my daughters in Dhule, Jalgaon and Aurangabad received calls," early on the morning of 1 December 2014, Harkishan Loya, the judge's father, told me when we first met, in November 2016, in his native village of Gategaon, near Latur city. They were informed "that Brij passed away in the night, that his post-mortem was over and his body had been sent to our ancestral home in Gategaon, in Latur district," he added. "I felt like an earthquake had shattered my life." The family was told that Loya had died of a cardiac arrest. "We were told that he had chest pain, and so was taken to Dande Hospital, a private hospital in Nagpur, by auto rickshaw, where some medication was provided," Harkishan said. Biyani, Loya's sister, described Dande Hospital as "an obscure place," and said that she "later learnt that the ECG"--the electrocardiography unit at the facility--"was not working." Later, Harkishan said, Loya "was shifted to Meditrina h....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....hat disturbed her. I also reached out to Loya's wife and son, but they declined to speak, saying that they feared for their lives. Biyani, who is based in Dhule, told me that she received a call on the morning of 1 December 2014 from someone identifying himself as a judge named Barde, who told her to travel to Gategaon, some 30 kilometres from Latur, where Loya's body was sent. The same caller also informed Biyani and other members of the family that a post-mortem had been conducted on the body, and that the cause of death was a heart attack. Loya's father normally resides in Gategaon, but was in Latur at the time, at the house of one of his daughters. He, too, received a phone call, telling him his son's body would be moved to Gategaon. "Ishwar Baheti, an RSS worker, had informed father that he would arrange for the body to reach Gategaon," Biyani told me. "Nobody knows why, how and when he came to know about the death of Brij Loya." Sarita Mandhane, another of Loya's sisters, who runs a tuition centre in Aurangabad and was visiting Latur at the time, told me that she received a call from Barde at around 5 am, informing her that Loya had....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....is is suspicious." Harkishan told me, "There were bloodstains on the clothes." Mandhane said that she, too, saw "blood on the neck." She said that "there was blood and an injury on his head ... on the back side," and that "his shirt had blood spots." Harkishan said, "His shirt had blood on it from his left shoulder to his waist." But in the post-mortem report, issued by the Government Medical College Hospital in Nagpur, under a category described as "Condition of the clothes--whether wet with water, stained with blood or soiled with vomit or fecal matter," a handwritten entry reads, simply, "Dry." Biyani found the state of the body suspicious because, as a doctor, "I know that blood does not come out during PM"--post-mortem-- "since the heart and lungs don't function." She said that she demanded a second post-mortem, but that Loya's gathered friends and colleagues "discouraged us, telling us not to complicate the issue more." The family was tense and scared, but was forced to carry out Loya's funeral, Harkishan said. Legal experts suggest that if Loya's death was deemed suspicious--the fact that a post-mortem was ordered suggests that....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... lawyer, said. "Why was the report of the medication administered at Dande hospital not given to the family? Will the answers to these questions create problems for someone?" Questions such as these "still keep bothering the family, friends and relatives," Biyani said. It added to their confusion that the judges who had insisted that Loya travel to Nagpur did not visit the family for "one or one and a half months" after his death, she said. It was only then that the family heard their account of Loya's last hours. According to Biyani, the two men told the family that Loya experienced chest pain at around 12.30 am, that they then took him to Dande Hospital in an auto rickshaw, and that there, "he climbed the stairs himself and some medication was administered. He was taken to Meditrina hospital where he was declared dead on arrival." Even after this, many questions were left unanswered. "We did try to get the details of the treatment administered in Dande Hospital, but the doctors and the staff there simply refused to divulge any details," Biyani said. I accessed the report of Loya's post-mortem, conducted at the Government Medical College Hos....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....es are the causes for such coronary artery insufficiency." Biyani pointed out that none of these were applicable to her brother. "Brij was 48," she said. "Our parents are 85 and 80 years old, and are healthy with no cardiac history. He was always a teetotaller, played table tennis for two hours a day for years, had no diabetes or blood pressure." Biyani told me that she found the official medical explanation for her brother's death hard to believe. "I am a doctor myself, and Brij used to consult me even for minor complaints such as acidity or cough," she said. "He had no cardiac history and no one from our family has it." (ii) Caravan Article dated 21 November 2017: "Brijgopal Harkishan Loya, the judge presiding over the CBI special court in Mumbai, died sometime between the night of 30 November and the early morning of 1 December 2014, while on a trip to Nagpur. At the time of his death, he was hearing the Sohrabuddin case, in which the prime Accused was the Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah. The media reported at the time that Loya had died of a heart attack. But my investigations between November 2016 and November 2017 raised disturbing quest....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ave been a matter of procedure. According to the Outlook story, "significantly, one of his last notings stated that Shah was being exempted from personal appearance 'till the framing of charges.' Loya had clearly not harboured the thought of dropping charges against Shah even when he appeared to be gentle on him." According to the lawyer Mihir Desai, who represented Sohrabuddin's brother Rubabuddin--the complainant in the case--Loya was keen on scrutinising the entire chargesheet, which ran to more than 10,000 pages, and on examining the evidence and witnesses carefully. "The case was sensitive and important, and it was going to create and decide the reputation of Mr. Loya as a judge," Desai said. "But the pressure was certainly mounting." Nupur Balaprasad Biyani, a niece of Loya's who stayed with his family in Mumbai while studying in the city, told me about the extent of the pressure she witnessed her uncle facing. "When he was coming from the court, he was like, 'bahut tension hai,'" she said. "Stress. It's a very big case. How to deal with it. Everyone is involved with it." Nupur said it was a question of "political values." Desai tol....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....dded, his son refused to succumb to the offers. "He told me I am going to turn in my resignation or get a transfer," Harkishan said. "I will move to my village and do farming." I contacted Mohit Shah and Amit Shah for their responses to the family's claims. At the time this story was published, they had not responded. The story will be updated if and when they reply. After Loya's death, MB Gosavi was appointed to the Sohrabuddin case. Gosavi began hearing the case on 15 December 2014. "He heard the defence lawyers argue for three days to discharge Amit Shah of all the charges, while the CBI, the prosecuting agency, argued for 15 minutes," Mihir Desai said. "He concluded the hearing on 17 December and reserved his order." On 30 December, around one month after Loya's death, Gosavi upheld the defence's argument that the CBI had political motives for implicating the Accused. With that, he discharged Amit Shah. The same day, news of MS Dhoni's retirement from test cricket dominated television screens across the country. As Biyani recounted, "There was just a ticker at the bottom which said, 'Amit Shah not guilty. Amit Shah not gui....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....y 2018 and Suryakant (alias Suraj), on 27 November 2017. The relief sought in the batch of cases instituted before the Bombay High Court is similar to what is sought before this Court. All the petitions are essentially based on the articles which have been published in the Caravan on 20 and 21 November 2017. Other media publications, both print and online carried news reports emanating from the Caravan articles. Among them are the Indian Express, Quint, Wire and Scroll. Procedural directions 4. On 16 January 2018, a two judge Bench of this Court issued the following directions in the Article 32 proceedings: Let the documents be placed on record within seven days and if it is considered appropriate copies be furnished to the Petitioners. Put up before the appropriate Bench. In view of the direction to put up the case before the appropriate Bench, proceedings were mentioned before the learned Chief Justice on 19 January 2018 and were directed to be listed on 22 January 2018 "before the appropriate Bench as per roster". On 22 January 2018 the State of Maharashtra filed documents in a sealed cover of which copies were made available to counsel for the Petitioners. The docume....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....the intervenors to rely upon such documentary material as would enable them to advance their submissions without being bound by technicalities of procedure. In order to analyse the facts as they emerge before the Court, it is necessary to construct the sequence of events from the material before the Court. Sequence of events 8. Shri Brijgopal Harkishan Loya ('Judge Loya') was presiding over the CBI Special Court in Mumbai. The criminal trial arising out of the encounter killings of Sohrabuddin Sheikh was assigned to his court. Among the Accused in the case was Amit Shah, the "national President of the Bharatiya Janata Party". On 29 November 2014 Judge Loya travelled on an overnight train from Mumbai to Nagpur together with two other judicial officers, Shri Shrikant Kulkarni ("Judge Kulkarni") and Shri SM Modak ("Judge Modak") to attend the wedding in the family of another judicial officer, Smt. Swapna Joshi who was then a Member Secretary of the Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority. Judge Kulkarni was at the material time working as Registrar (Judicial-I) on the Appellate side of the Bombay High Court and Judge Modak was the Principal District Judge at Alibag. Judge....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
...., Nagpur after learning about the sad demise of the aforesaid judicial officer on 01/12/2014. " The Commissioner sought the permission of the Chief Justice "to record the say of the above judicial officers" either in the form of a statement or a letter elaborating the sequence of events and the facts known to them in the matter. The Registrar General of the High Court, by a letter dated 23 November 2017, responded to the request and stated that the Chief Justice had granted the permission "to record the say" of the four judicial officers-Judge Shrikant Kulkarni, Judge Modak, Judge Barde and Judge RR Rathi. The report of the discreet inquiry dated 28 November 2017 was submitted to the Additional Chief Secretary (Home). The contents of the report are summarised below: (i) Judge Loya was in Nagpur to attend the wedding in the family of a colleague on 30 November 2014 along with his colleagues, Judge Kulkarni and Judge Modak, both in the rank of Principal District Judges; (ii) The three judicial officers stayed at Ravi Bhavan; (iii) In the early hours of 1 December 2014 Judge Loya complained of chest pain. Judge Shrikant Kulkarni called Judge Barde who was post....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....r/o Latur] got a call in the wee hours of 01-12-2014 informing him about Mr. Loya's health. On learning about his friend's condition from his brother [Dr Hansraj], Ishwar Govindlal Baheti called up his relative in Aurangabad, Mr. Rukmesh Jakhotiya, who in turn requested Dr Prashant Rathi of Nagpur to provide assistance and care to Mr. Loya. Mr. Ishwar Govindlal Baheti also called up another cousin of Dr Loya, Mr. Om Bhutada and got in touch with the Latur-based relatives of Mr. Loya. During verification, Mr. Ishwar Govindlal Baheti claimed that he was a worker and well-wisher ["karyakarta & shubh-chintak"] of late Mr. Vilasraoji Deskhmukh and that he was not connected with RSS. Late Mr. Brijgopal Loya's father, Shri Harkishan Ramchandra Loya, confirmed to the undersigned that Ishwar Baheti was a close friend of his son and that he was 'like a brother' to him. Mr. Loya's son, Anuj, has stated as follows: "my uncle, Mr. Iswar Baheti had organized a big function in memory of my father on his first death anniversary according to panchang on 06-12-2015 at Gategaon, Latur where everyone from my family including my grandfather Harkishanji and my aunty Dr Anuradha w....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....rrect; (xvi) Intimation of the death was furnished to the members of the family of Judge Loya and to his colleagues who resided at Haji Ali, Mumbai by Judge Barde and Judge Modak in the early hours of 1 December 2014; (xvii) The claim in the Caravan Article that sources in the Government Medical College and Sitabardi police station had seen the body during the course of the night was devoid of substance; (xviii) The reference in the Caravan Article to blood-stains on the neck of the deceased is contrary to the post-mortem report which stated that there were no external injuries on the body; (xix) The members of Judge Loya's family including his son, wife, father and sister have not supported the insinuations in the Caravan article; and (xx) The second Article in Caravan dated 21 November 2017 contains unfounded insinuations against the former Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court Shri Justice Mohit Shah. They have been levelled on the basis of an array of hearsay versions. The report concludes by stating that the Article published in the Caravan "made several unsubstantiated claims and is replete with falsehoods". The conclusion of the ....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....icials and a senior politician were Accused may shake the confidence of public in investigation conducted by the State police. If the majesty of the Rule of law is to be upheld and if it is to be ensured that the guilty are punished in accordance with law notwithstanding their status and authority which they might have enjoyed, it is desirable to entrust the investigation to CBI. Subsequently, in Central Bureau of Investigation v. Amitbhai Anil Chandra Shah (2012) 10 SCC 545, while upholding the grant of bail by the Gujarat High Court, this Court ordered the transfer of the criminal case outside the State of Gujarat to the State of Maharashtra. The following directions were issued: In another decision in Ravindra Pal Singh v. Santosh Kumar Jaiswal (2011) 4 SCC 746, this Court directed for transfer of the case outside the State because some of the Accused in a case of fake encounter were policemen. The case in hand has far more stronger reasons for being transferred outside the State. We, accordingly, direct for the transfer of Special Case No. 5 of 2010 pending in the Court of the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, CBI, Courtroom No. 2, Mirzapur, Ahmedabad titled CB....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ondents should be directed to file "appropriate affidavits" on oath having regard to the fact that the jurisdiction Under Article 32 is extraordinary in its nature and scope. 13. Mr. Dave has submitted that the discreet inquiry and report prepared by the Commissioner of the State Intelligence Department is an attempt to stall an independent investigation. It is, according to him, unusual for the state government to order a discreet inquiry on the basis of a report published in a news periodical. Highlighting the sequence of events, it is urged that on 23 November 2017, the state government directed the Commissioner to conduct a discreet verification and on the same day, a letter was addressed to the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court seeking to record the say of the four judicial officers who had accompanied Judge Loya to the hospital on 1 December 2014. The High Court of Bombay communicated the approval of the Chief Justice on the same day. The judicial officers submitted their statements within a day. The report was submitted by the Commissioner on 28 November 2017, within five days. There is, in his submission, a sense of alacrity which is not ordinarily found amongst publi....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ct the name of Judge Loya from Brijmohan Harikishan Loya to Brijgopal Harikishan Loya. It has been urged that if Judge Loya was accompanied by his colleagues, his name would not have been furnished incorrectly to the hospital; (v) The record indicates that Sadar police station made a fresh accidental death summary almost one and a half years later on 2 February 2016. While doing so, the officer of PS Sadar recorded as follows: Sir, PSI SD Warade was day officer on. 01/12/2014, he got AD No. 00/14, 174 Code of Criminal Procedure from PC PANKAJ b No. 6238 [from Sitabardi Police Station]. The said AD was that of Shri Brijgopal Harikishan Loya, age 48 years, resident of Hajiali Government Colony, Building No. 11, Mumbai. On perusing the case diary, I found that the place of occurrence is in jurisdiction of Police Station Sadar, so I registered AD No. 44/14, Under Section 174 Code of Criminal Procedure. If AD 44/14 was registered in February 2016, it was urged, there is a contradiction in the reference to the above AD in the report of the Regional Forensic Science Laboratory dated 5 February 2015; (vi) The statements of the four judicial officer....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... Judge Loya to Caravan; (xiv) If Judge Loya had suffered a heart attack, his colleagues instead of taking him to Dande hospital ought to have shifted him to a reputed cardiac facility some of which were situated within a distance of five kilometres from Ravi Bhavan. That the judicial officers did not rush their colleague to "the best hospital available" raises doubts about the theory that they had accompanied Judge Loya; and (xv) While on one hand Dr Dande claimed that an ECG was taken, Judge Rathi in his statement has recorded that at Dande hospital the ECG machine was not working. On the above grounds, it has been submitted, that the report of the Commissioner of State Intelligence should be rejected. An independent inquiry by a Special Investigating Team has been sought. He has suggested to the Court that this is a fit case for initiating the in-house procedure against two judges of the Bombay High Court for granting an interview to the media. 15. Mr. Dave has submitted an application that he may be allowed to cross-examine the four judicial officers whose statements have been relied upon in the report submitted by the Commissioner of State Intelligence. In sup....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....;(a) Correction of the name on 10 January 2015; (b) The date of death is shown as 7 December 2014; (c) The over-writing of the date of death from 30 November 2014 to 1 December 2014; (d) The cause of death as Coronary Artery Insufficiency; (viii) The failure to prepare a panchnama of the personal belongings of the deceased which assume significance from the statement of the sister of the deceased to Caravan that his cell phone was returned a few days later with all messages deleted; (ix) The first accidental death report (AD 00/14) Under Section 174 Code of Criminal Procedure was recorded at Sitabardi. The second AD 44/2014 was recorded at 1600 hours at Sadar police station without the Executive Magistrate being informed; (x) The failure to produce the case diary of PS Sitabardi or Sadar; (xi) Failure to follow the procedure prescribed by law Under Section 174 Code of Criminal Procedure. No. inquiry was carried out by the police or by anyone else at the inquest Under Section 174; (xii) Dr Prashant Rathi was not a 'relative' within the meaning of Section 176 Code of Criminal Procedure; (xiii) Furnishing ....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....fined to determination of the particular case, protecting its ability to function as a court of law in the future as in the case before it. If a criminal court is to be an effective instrument in dispensing justice, the Presiding Judge must cease to be a spectator and a mere recording machine by becoming a participant in the trial evincing intelligence, active interest and elicit all relevant materials necessary for reaching the correct conclusion, to find out the truth, and administer justice with fairness and impartiality both to the parties and to the community it serves. The courts administering criminal justice cannot turn a blind eye to vexatious or oppressive conduct that has occurred in relation to proceedings, even if a fair trial is still possible, except at the risk of undermining the fair name and standing of the judges as impartial and independent adjudicators. Reliance was also placed on the following observations contained in the decision in Vineet Narain v. Union of India (1996) 2 SCC 199: 3. The facts and circumstances of the present case do indicate that it is of utmost public importance that this matter is examined thoroughly by this Court to ensure that....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....the transfer of the predecessor officer etc." Relying on the decision of this Court in Vineet Narain (supra), Mr. Surendranath submitted that the setting up of a Special Investigation Team is warranted, having regard to the nature of the crime in the Sohrabuddin case, the status of the Accused, circumstances which led to the transfer of the proceedings from Gujarat to Maharashtra; the discharge of some of the Accused after a new judicial officer took charge upon the death of Judge Loya and the absence of security for Judge Loya at the relevant time. In his submissions, the contradictory versions given by close relatives of the deceased judge is in itself a reason to order a formal investigation under the Code of Criminal Procedure by registering an FIR. D Mr. Prashant Bhushan: 18. Mr. Prashant Bhushan, learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the Centre for Public Interest Litigation has filed an application for intervention. The affidavit in support of the application has been sworn and verified by Mr. Prashant Bhushan. Reiterating the contents of the application, it has been urged that on 11 February 2018 Caravan published a report stating that the post-mortem report and histopat....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... on affidavit. Besides, the statements of the four judicial officers would only indicate that Judge Loya complained of chest pain following which he died on the way to Meditrina hospital. According to him, the eye-witness accounts would be consistent with other causes of death including poisoning. Virtually at the end of his submissions, Mr. Bhushan queried this Court as to whether two members of the Bench (Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud) would like to hear the matter since it may be that as judges of the Bombay High Court earlier they may have been acquainted with the four judicial officers and the two judges (Justice Gavai and Justice Shukre). In response to his query we had inquired of Mr. Bhushan as to whether he intended to file an application for recusal. No. application for recusal has been filed. Mr. Bhushan has stated that he leaves the matter there. E Mr. Pallav Shishodia: 20. Mr. Pallav Shishodia, learned Senior Counsel, has urged in his submissions that: These stories have led to a tide of insinuations, questions on integrity of our judicial system and war of recriminations. The present writ proceedings also appear to have found resonance....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ews reports, because they are hearsay in the nature. All the petitions are based entirely on news reports. The source of knowledge is the reports which appeared in the print and electronic media; (iii) Despite the submission in (ii) above, having due regard to the fact that the death of a judge in the state judicial service is in issue, the State of Maharashtra is not pressing for dismissal on grounds of maintainability and urges its submissions on merits to satisfy the conscience of the court; (iv) Two colleagues of Judge Loya from the district judiciary-Judge Kulkarni and Judge Modak were with him from 29 November 2014 until he died on 1 December 2014. They have furnished a clear and cogent account of the events which took place. Their statements are corroborated by the statements of two other judicial officers-Judge Rathi and Judge Barde; (v) An inquiry can be ordered by this Court only if it finds sufficient justification to reject the eye-witness account of the judges of the district judiciary who accompanied Judge Loya from the night of 29 November 2014 (when they left Mumbai for Nagpur) until the afternoon of 1 December 2014 (when the ambulance left f....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....nce should be attached to the fact that the name of Judge Loya was recorded as Brijmohan instead of Brijgopal, having due regard to the emergency in which he was initially taken to Dande hospital and later to Meditrina. The error was corrected on 10 December 2014; (xi) The death report was initially recorded at Sitabardi police station Nagpur. The death report at police station Sadar was recorded later since Ravi Bhavan falls within the jurisdiction of Sadar police station. As the record indicates, the death report at police station Sadar was on the basis of the earlier report lodged at Sitabardi police station; (xii) Finding that there was no warrant for suspicion in regard to the death, a request for closure was submitted to the Executive Magistrate in February 2016; (xiii) There was nothing untoward in the conduct of a discreet inquiry by the Commissioner, SID. The inquiry was initiated after news reports appeared in Caravan on 20 and 21 November 2017. While conducting such inquiries, a parallel is drawn by the State on the basis of the Anticorruption Manual which envisages the procedure to be followed in a discreet inquiry. Even independent of the manual....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....r attempt to subvert judicial independence and to cast aspersions on the independence of the judiciary; and (xix) The timing of the publication of the newspaper Article was politically motivated, since it coincided with the elections to the Gujarat Assembly. It is urged that the purpose is to target a political opponent by engaging the process of the Court. 24. The rival submissions would now be analysed. D Analysis 25. Mr. Dave submitted that notice be issued formally in the writ proceedings and the State should be called upon to file affidavits in response to the petitions. Counsel submitted that once affidavits are filed it would be open to the Petitioners to initiate steps for perjury, if a false statement has been made before the court. 26. While dealing with this submission, it is necessary to record that in pursuance of the procedural directions which were issued during the course of the first hearing, the state has filed a compilation of documents on the record. All contesting parties have appeared and have been heard. The documentary material which has been filed by the state has been tendered to the court and forms part of the record of judicial proceedings. N....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ther or by an animal or by machinery or by an accident, or has died under circumstances raising a reasonable suspicion that some other person has committed an offence, he shall immediately give intimation thereof to the nearest Executive Magistrate empowered to hold inquests, and, unless otherwise directed by any Rule prescribed by the State Government, or by any general or special order of the District or Sub-divisional Magistrate, shall proceed to the place where the body of such deceased person is, and there, in the presence of two or more respectable inhabitants of the neighbourhood, shall make an investigation, and draw up a report of the apparent cause of death, describing such wounds, fractures, bruises, and other marks of injury as may be found on the body, and stating in what manner, or by what weapon or instrument (if any); such marks appear to have been inflicted. (2) The report shall be signed by such police officer and other persons, or by so many of them as concur therein, and shall be forthwith forwarded to the District Magistrate or the Sub-divisional Magistrate. (3) 1 When- (i) the case involves suicide by a woman within seven years of her m....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....tended to ascertain the nature of the injuries and the apparent cause of death. On the other hand, it is the doctor who conducts a post-mortem examination who examines the body from a medico-legal perspective. Hence it is the post-mortem report that is expected to contain the details of the injuries through a scientific examination Madhu v. State of Karnataka (2014) 12 SCC 419; Radha Mohan Singh @ Lal Saheb v. State of UP (2006) 2 SCC 450; Mahendra Rai v. Mithlesh Rai (1997) 10 SCC 605; Amar Singh v. Balwinder Singh (2003) 2 SCC 518; Suresh Rai v. State of Bihar AIR 2000 SC 2207 and Shukla Khader v. Nausher Gama (1975) 4 SCC 122. 30. The scope of an inquiry Under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure has been considered in several decisions of this Court. In Pedda Narayana v. State of Andhra Pradesh (1975) 4 SCC 153, this Court explained that the limited scope of such an inquiry is to ascertain whether a person has died in suspicious circumstances or an unnatural death and, if this was the case, the apparent cause of death. The court observed: The proceedings Under Section 174 have a very limited scope. The object of the proceedings is merely to ascertain whether a....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....d judges held that the purpose of an 'inquest' in cases of accidental or suspicious deaths Under Sections 174 and 175 is distinct from the 'investigation' Under Section 157 of the Code under which if an officer in charge of a police station has reason to suspect the commission of an offence which he is empowered to investigate, he shall proceed in person to the spot to investigate the facts and circumstances of the case. Reiterating this principle, a two judge Bench in Bimla Devi v. Rajesh Singh (2016) 15 SCC 448 explained the scope of the provisions of Section 174 in the following observations: The scope of the Section is investigation by the police in cases of unnatural or suspicious death. However, the scope is very limited and aimed at ascertaining the first apparent signs of the death. Apart from this, the police officer has to investigate the place wherefrom the dead body is recovered, describe wounds, fractures, bruises and other marks of injury as may be found on the body, stating in what manner or by what weapon or instrument, such injuries appear to have been inflicted. From the above, it thus becomes clear, that the Section aims at preserving the....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... may hold inquests. Under Section 175, the police officer proceeding Under Section 174 is empowered to summon for the purposes of the investigation any person who appears to be acquainted with the facts of the case. Under Section 176, where the case is of the nature specified in Clauses (i) or (ii) of Sub-section (3) of Section 174, the nearest Magistrate empowered to hold an inquest shall hold an inquiry into the cause of death instead of or in addition to the investigation held by the police officer. In any other case mentioned in Sub-section (1) of Section 174 the Magistrate may hold an inquiry. Sections 175 and 176 provide as follows: 175. Power to summon persons. (1) A police officer proceeding Under Section 174, may, by order in writing, summon two or more persons as aforesaid for the purpose of the said investigation, and any other person who appears to be acquainted with the facts of the case and every person so summoned shall be bound to attend and to answer truly all questions other than questions the answers to which would have a tendency to expose him to a criminal charge or to a penalty or forfeiture. (2) If the facts do not disclose a cognizabl....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....anation.- In this section, expression" relative" means parents, children, brothers, sisters and spouse. Documentary material 32. In the context of the above statutory provisions, it is necessary to examine the material on record. We will proceed to initially analyse the documentary material which has been placed before the court by the State of Maharashtra. Since the statements of the judicial officers which were recorded during the course of the discreet inquiry have been the subject of a considerable amount of argument, we will analyse them in a subsequent part of the judgment. 33. Judge Loya was brought to Meditrina hospital at Nagpur at 6.15 am on 1 December 2014. Dr NB Gawande of Meditrina addressed a letter to the PSI, Sitabardi police station on the following subject: MLC information on hospital in-patient death/brought dead". The communication states that the deceased was "brought with no evidence of life to our hospital" with history of retrosternal chest pain. The patient was reported to have come to Nagpur to attend a function. The person who admitted the patient is recorded as Shrikant D Kulkarni. His relationship with the patient is described as "friend". T....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....mber 2014 for post-mortem. An inquest panchnama commenced at 10 am and ended at 10.30 am in the presence of two panchas. PSI Mundhe attached to Sitabardi police station conducted the inquest. The inquest panchnama notes the condition of the dead body and does not find any mark of injury or assault. The dead body was then sent to the medical officer for conducting the post-mortem. There is an advance report dated 1 December 2014 of Dr NK Tumram of the Department of Forensic Medicine at Government Medical College recording that the probable cause of death is "coronary artery insufficiency". The post-mortem report of 1 December 2014 records that there is no evidence of bodily injury. The dura and brain are found to be congested and edematous. Lungs are also found to be in a congested condition and edematous. The heart is found to be congested. The post-mortem records that there is evidence of atherosclerosis in the left coronary and left anterior descending artery with calcification. It records the narrowing of the artery and evidence of hypertrophy of the left ventricle. Evidence is found of plaque in the inner wall of the aorta. The report indicates that samples of the stomach, live....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... The correction was endorsed on 10 December 2014 on the post-mortem report. 41. In February 2016, the Sadar police station addressed a communication to the Special Executive Magistrate making a reference to the death summary bearing No. 07/16 dated 2 February 2016. The summary records that on 1 December 2014, the police station at Sadar received AD004/14 from the Sitabardi police station. On perusing the case diary, it was noticed that the place of occurrence was within the jurisdiction of Sadar police station. Hence AD 44/14 was recorded Under Section 174 Code of Criminal Procedure. An inquest panchnama was prepared by PSI Mundhe in the presence of two panch witnesses. The postmortem was conducted at the Medical College Hospital by Dr NK Tumram of the Forensic Medicine Department. After the post-mortem concluded, the body was handed over to Dr Prashant Rathi, a relative of the deceased. During the course of inquiry, it has been noted from the post-mortem report that the cause of death was coronary artery insufficiency. On discussing the matter with Dr Tumram, it was ascertained that the death was due to a heart attack and there was nothing suspicious about the death. During the c....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... permission, the Commissioner, SID wrote to the four judicial officers. They tendered-signed statements. 44. The statement of Judge Kulkarni dated 24 November 2017 is extracted below: Reference: Your letter No-COI/PA/Loya/DE/2017-165. Sir, With reference to your letter, I hereby submit brief sequence/say about the unfortunate death of Shri BH Loya at Nagpur. In the month of November - December 2014, I was working as Registrar (Judicial-I), Appellate Side, High Court, Bombay. Mrs. Swapna Joshi was the Member Secretary, Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority at that time and she was my Principal Judge while working in the City Civil Court, Mumbai. She had invited me, my colleague Shri SM Modak and Shri BH Loya who were working in the City Civil Court, Mumbai for the wedding of her son at Nagpur. Accordingly, I along with Shri SM Modak and Shri BH Loya left Mumbai by train in night of 29th November, 2014 and reached Nagpur in the morning of 30th November 2014. We went to Ravi Bhavan Government Guest House where V.I.P. Suit was booked. On the night of 30th November, 2014 we attended reception arranged by Mrs. Swapna Joshi on account ....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... reads as follows: Sub: Discreet Verification in the death of Judge Shri Loya. Ref: Your letter OW No. COI/PA/LOYA/DE/2017-165 Dated 23/11/2017. Respected Sir, I received your above mentioned letter in the morning through the hands of your representative. It accompanies permission letter issued by Hon'ble Registrar General dated 23/11/2017. It is not accompanied by any complaint/application/any document. You have requested me to give my say in the captioned matter. There is gap of almost three years after the death of our brother Judge Loya. As per my memory I am giving sequence of events as follows: a. I accompanied Judge Shri Shrikant Kulkarni and Judge Shri Loya on 29/11/2014 for attending the marriage of son of Ladyship Smt. Joshi (then Secretary MHALSA). b. We left by train at the night. Ladyship Smt. Joshi, her family members and few other judges were also travelled in the same train but in different compartments. c. We reached Nagpur in the morning of 30/11/2014. Journey was comfortable. It was through AC coach. d. From station we went to Ravi Bhavan e. After bath, myself accompanied Judge Shri Kulka....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....tatives Shri Patil. The statement of Judge VC Barde, dated 24 November, 2017 reads as follows: SUB: Your letter dt. 23.11.2017 for my Say, regarding occurrence dt. 1.11.2014 at Nagpur of sad demise of District Judge Shri BH Loya Sir, Dear Sir, With reference to the subject mentioned as above, I state that on the above date, at about 4 A.M. I received a call on my mobile No. 9423406827 from Shri S.D. Kulkarni Sir, Registrar of Hon'ble Bombay High Court that I with my Car and Shri R.R. Rathi, Senior Civil Judge, should come to Ravi Bhavan Govt. Guest House, where he, Shri Modak Sir District Judge, and late Shri Loya Sir were staying having come from Mumbai. He said that Shri Loya Sir was having chest pains. Accordingly, I called Shri Rathi and proceeded to Ravi Bhavan. Immediately, we the above 5 persons in the Car proceeded towards Dande Hospital. In the meanwhile, Shri S.D. Kulkarni Sir also called Shri Waiker Sir, now retired District Judge. The medical officer on duty there checked up Shri Loya by ECG, Blood Pressure etc. as per their procedure. Judge Shri Rathi has his brother in relation by name Dr Shri Pankaj Harkut, M.D. and D.M., as a Doc....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....well acquainted with him, and performed by moral duty to take him in the hospital with other learned officers to provided all the possible help. The statement of Judge RR Rathi dated 23 November 2017 reads as follows: Upon request of Shri Sanjay Barve, Commissioner SID, Mumbai and as Hon'ble High Court of Bombay granted permission to give say, I am stating the fact know to me regarding Judge Shri Brijgopal Harikishnan Loya. Myself R.R. Rathi Ad hoc District Judge, Baramati on dated 1.12.2014 was working as 5 the Civil Judge Shri V.C. Barde phoned me on mobile and asked for my help by stating that Judge Loya is not feeling well and is at Ravi Bhavan, so we should help him. Hearing the same and in order to help, being local Judge, I was immediately ready. Mr. Barde came to my quarter in his car and we then immediately went to Ravi Bhavan. At Ravi Bhavan Judge Shri Modak and Shri Shrikant Kulkarni were also present. At that time Judge Loya was attending natures call. Thereafter he came down and told that he is having heart burn and having ache in his heart and requested for help. Thereafter we all present there went in the car and Mr. Barde. At that time s....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... ordered by the state government in view of the articles which were published in Caravan regarding the death of a judicial officer. Three of the statements specifically refer to the letter to the Commissioner while the fourth refers to the request which has been made by the Commissioner and the permission which has been granted by the High Court. There was no reason for the four judicial officers to procrastinate or delay the submission of their statements. There is no basis whatsoever to make any imputation against the four officers of the state judiciary. They were present with Judge Loya at Nagpur to attend a wedding in the family of a colleague. Each of them responded, as judges of the district judiciary, to the permission which was granted by the Chief Justice of the High Court to the Commissioner, SID to record their say. The judges have spoken about the facts of the case as they could recall, with details. We have extracted each of the four statements fully, as they stand. Each of the judges has spoken in detail of the facts and events which were within their personal knowledge. The statements contain matters of detail which would be known to those who were present with Judg....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....Senior Counsel chose with all seriousness to make those submissions without a sense of responsibility, and without verifying the basic facts reveals a disturbing state of affairs. We must express our disapproval in no uncertain terms. 48. Learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the Petitioners as well as the intervenors have sought to question the course of action which was followed by the judicial officers after Judge Loya complained of chest pain in the early hours of 1 December 2014. Why, they have queried, was he taken to Dande hospital initially and not to a specialised cardiac care facility when it was available within a radius of 5 kilometres of Ravi Bhavan. This line of argument is without merit. Judge Loya, as the statements of Judge Kulkarni and Judge SM Modak indicate, complained of chest pain at about 0400 hours on 1 December 2014. His colleagues who were with him took a decision in good faith to take him to Dande hospital which is in close proximity to Ravi bhavan. The issue in the present case is whether Judge Loya died a natural or unnatural death. To attribute motives to his colleagues who were with him and took immediate steps to shift him to a hospital nearby is a....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... been seriously urged that in fact no ECG was done at Dande hospital. Judge Shrikant Kulkarni in his statement dated 24 November 2017 has stated that "emergency treatment" was given to Judge Loya at Dande hospital. Judge SM Modak states that after an initial check-up, the doctors at Dande hospital advised shifting the patient to another hospital. Judge Vijay Barde who was present at Dande hospital specifically stated that the medical officer on duty there examined ("checked-up") Judge Loya "by ECG, blood pressure etc. as per their procedure". Judge Rathi has stated that at Dande hospital, time was wasted because the nodes of the ECG machine were broken and the machine was not working. This statement of Judge Rathi must, however, be weighed with the doctor's progress notes at Meditrina hospital. The death summary (extracted earlier) specifically adverts to the fact that the patient was taken to Dande hospital earlier where an ECG was done. Dr Dande has made the same statement. The progress notes also note a "tall 'T'" in the anterior lead which indicates that the ECG was seen by the doctors attending to Judge Loya at Meditrina hospital. These progress notes are contempor....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....st report records. This is another submission which has been urged to cast doubt on the sequence of events as set out in the statements of the four judicial officers. Now a close reading of Judge Rathi's statement indicates that when he reached Ravi Bhavan and met Judge Modak and Judge Kulkarni, Judge Loya was attending to a call of nature. It is evident from the statement that Judge Loya, when he left Ravi Bhavan was not unconscious and was complaining of chest pain and heart burn. To urge that the depiction of the clothes worn by Judge Loya casts doubt on the sequence of events narrated by the judicial officers is hence untenable. 53. Another submission is that if the four judges had accompanied Judge Loya to hospital, then as colleagues they would not have indicated his name to be Brijmohan instead of Brijgopal. This is but another attempt to cast doubt on the version of the four judicial officers without a substantive basis or foundation. Judge Loya was taken to hospital in an emergency. The normal course of human events would indicate that his four colleagues would be more concerned about getting Judge Loya attended than filling up an admission form. A mistake did occur i....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....o his home town, Gategaon, for the funeral ceremonies. The report of the discreet inquiry contains an elaborate reference to the fact that Dr Prashant Rathi who was stationed at Nagpur was contacted by a relative in Aurangabad, requesting his help on 1 December 2014. Dr Rathi has in his statement made a factual explanation about how he was contacted by his relative and asked to assist in the formalities for Judge Loya. The presence of Dr Rathi cannot be doubted, having regard to the contemporaneous documentary material including the accident summary. 57. Similarly, a fair amount of critical comment has been devoted by counsel for the Petitioners and intervenors to (i) why the family of Judge Loya was not brought to Nagpur by a flight from Mumbai after the death had occurred; and (ii) why, as alleged, in the Caravan article, the body reached Gategon for the funeral rights unaccompanied. It is necessary to emphasise that both these submissions have no bearing on whether the death of Judge Loya was due to natural causes or otherwise, since they relate to events which took place after his death. But it is necessary in the present judgment to discuss the submissions because on a close ....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... Authority. Judge Kulkarni, Judge Modak and Judge Loya travelled together by the same train from Mumbai to Nagpur on 29 November 2014 and arrived in Nagpur on the morning of 30 November 2014. They proceeded to Ravi Bhavan where a suite was reserved. During the course of the day, the three judicial officers visited the residences of two judges of the High Court at Nagpur, Justice SB Shukre and Justice PR Bora. They visited the home of Shri Barde and were together all along. They went to the market, returned to Ravi Bhavan and attended the wedding reception in the evening. After dinner the three judges returned to Ravi Bhavan a little before midnight. Judge Modak is also clear in the details that he offers. All the three judges who were accompanied by Judge Mahajan stopped by at a pan shop before they came back to Ravi Bhavan. The fact that all the three judges stayed together is the consistent account which emerges from the statements of Judge Modak and Judge Kulkarni which is corroborated by the statement of Judge Barde. There is no basis for the court to doubt the veracity of the natural account of the above three judicial officers (Judge Kulkarni, Judge Modak and Judge Barde). Th....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... death or otherwise. The issue as to whether Judge JT Utpat could have been transferred has no bearing on the circumstances in which Judge Loya died. Mr. Rohtagi appearing on behalf of the State has urged that the trial was yet to begin and hence the transfer of Judge JT Utpat on his request cannot be faulted. We clarify that it is not necessary to express any opinion on the submission of Mr. Rohtagi since we are of the view that the transfer of the earlier judge and the appointment of Judge Loya in June 2014 has no bearing on whether Judge Loya's death on 1 December 2014 was due to natural causes. 60. The Petitioners have sought to rely upon the allegations against the then Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, Shri Justice Mohit Shah made by the father and sister of Judge Loya. Reliance has also been placed on a handwritten note dated 18 February 2015 purportedly scribed by Anuj Loya after a meeting with the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, who had come to visit the family. The video recording of an interview given to Caravan by the father and sister of Judge Loya was also handed over to the court on a pen drive. The members of the family of Judge Loya have disassoc....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....gar, Nagpur, 8. Shri Anuj Brij Gopal Loya s/o Late Sh. BH Loya, 9. Smt. Sharmila Brij Gopal Loya w/o Sh BH Loya 10. Shri Hari Kishan Ramchandra Loya, f/o Late Sh BH Loya, 11. Dr Anuradha Balaprasad Biyani, sister of Late Sh BH Loya. 63. Order IX of the Supreme Court Rules 2013 deals with Affidavits. Rules 1 and 2 provide as follows: 1. The Court may at any time, for sufficient reason, order that any particular fact or facts may be proved by affidavit, or that the affidavit of any witness may be read at the hearing, on such conditions as the Court thinks reasonable: Provided that where it appears to the Court that either party bona fide desires the production of a witness for cross-examination and that such witness can be produced, an order shall not be made authorising the evidence of such witness to be given by affidavit. 2. Upon any application evidence may be given by affidavit; but the Court may, at the instance of either party, order the attendance for cross-examination of the deponent, and such attendance shall be in Court, unless the deponent is exempted from personal appearance in Court or the Court otherwise directs.....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....f mala fides and of improper motives on the part of those in power are frequently made and their frequency has increased in recent times. It is also somewhat unfortunate that allegations of this nature which have no foundation, in fact, are made in several of the cases which have come up before this and other courts and it is found that they have been made merely with a view to cause prejudice or in the hope that whether they have basis in fact or not some of it at least might stick. Consequently it has become the duty of the Court to scrutinise these allegations with care so as to avoid being in any manner influenced by them, in cases where they have no foundation in fact. In this task which is thus cast on the courts it would conduce to a more satisfactory disposal and consideration of them, if those against whom allegations are made came forward to place before the court either their denials or their version of the matter, so that the Court may be in a position to judge as to whether the onus that lies upon those who make allegations of mala fides on the part of authorities of the status of those with which this appeal is concerned, have discharged their burden of proving it. In....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... on a report in Caravan published on 11 February 2018 stating that the post-mortem and histopathology reports were sent to a forensic expert, Dr RK Sharma, formerly attached to AIIMS, and that Dr Sharma has ruled out the possibility of the death being due to a heart attack. Moreover, it has been stated that the documents indicate signs of trauma to the brain. Hence, it was urged that poisoning cannot be ruled out. The application for intervention states that the intervenor obtained a set of documents from Caravan, including the histopathology report and a copy of the ECG done at Dande hospital. Mr. Prashant Bhushan claims to have forwarded the ECG and histopathology report to Dr Upendra Kaul, a former professor of Cardiology at AIIMS. Mr. Prashant Bhushan himself addressed an e-mail to Dr Upendra Kaul seeking his professional opinion on certain queries. Dr Kaul responded that the ECG "most unlikely.. has no evidence of a recent myocardial infarction". Moreover, it has been stated that the histopathology of the heart mostly indicates that it was normal and that the coronary artery block in the LAD "could be" an innocent bystander. The application for intervention also states that Mr....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... noted that by a previous reply dated 16 February 2018 Dr Sidharth Gupta of AIIMS had stated thus: In reference to above, Kindly note that, AIIMS, New Delhi has a fixed protocol to respond only to the official written request from the government investigating agency or Honourable court with all the MANDATORY corroborative investigating documents including medical documents, details of scene investigation along with the interaction with the doctors who conducted the post-mortem, for medico legal opinion, since without the same, holistic opinion can't be formed for the perusal by law. From the material on the record it is evident that an effort has been made by Mr. Prashant Bhushan to collect evidence to somehow bolster the case of the Petitioners, acting in his personal capacity. A questionnaire in the form of leading questions was addressed by him to Dr Upendra Kaul, formerly at AIIMS, upon which a reply was obtained. The court has been apprised of the fact that following this, the senior police inspector at Sadar police station addressed a communication on 11 February 2018 to Dr Harish Pathak, Professor and Head of the Department of Forensic Medicine, KEM Hospital, Mu....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....f the chest. This bone may also referred to as the breastbone) Myocardium: The muscular tissue of the heart. (Annexure 5, Page 8) Ischemia: An inadequate blood supply to an organ or part of body, especially heart muscles. (Annexure 6, Page 9) Infraction: Obstruction of the blood supply to an organ or region of tissue, typically by thrombus or embolus, causing local death of tissue. (Annexure 7, Page 10) 2. The ECG showed tall "T-waves" in the anterior leads. This is consistent with the history indicative of myocardial ischemia. According to Principles of Internal Medicine, Harrison, Tall, positive hyperacute T waves are the earliest stages of ischemia. (Annexure 8, Page 12) 3. DOCTOR'S PROGRESS NOTES (Annexure 1 Page 1) indicate that Mr. Brijgopal H Loya was brought to Meditrina Institute of Medical Sciences with cardiac arrest in collapsed condition. In spite of all resuscitative measures, he could not be revived and declared dated at 06:15 am on 01/12/2017 at Meditrina Hospital. (Annexure 1, Page 1, Annexure 16 Page 32, Annexure 17, Page 34) 4. According to the statement of Dr Pankaj Harkut, Director of C....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ypertrophy of left ventricle present". According to Principles of Internal Medicine, Harrison, Myocardial ischemia also can occur if myocardial oxygen demands are markedly increased and particularly when coronary blood flow may be limited, as occurs in severe left ventricular hypertrophy due to aortic stenosis. .. an increase in oxygen demand due to left ventricular hypertrophy secondary to hypertension and a reduction in oxygen supply secondary to coronary atherosclerosis and anemia. Abnormal constriction or failure of normal dilation of the coronary resistance vessels also can cause ischemia.' (Annexure 11, Page 17) 7C. "Large vessels intact, evidence of atherosclerotic changes present in the inner walls of arch of aorta., ascending aorta" - No comment is required. 7D. "Abdomen-All organs were congested and stomach contains 10 ml of yellowish juicy material, with no peculiar odour" - No comment required. 8. Routine vescera were preserved for chemical analysis and the report of the same did not reveal any presence of poison. Pieces of brain, lungs, liver, heart, spleen, both kidneys, left descending aorta were preserved for histo....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....efore 12 hours. (Annexure 12, Page 20) * The fact gross changes in the myocardial tissue appears only 18-24 hours post ischemia/infarction. (Practical Cardio Vascular Pathology, Mary N Sheppard Annexure 15, Page 31 8.4 No conclusive evidence of coronary artery insufficiency. (The Caravan, Annexure 19, Page 47) * Following evidences are sufficient to reach to the conclusion of acute coronary insufficiency: (a) Initial symptoms narrated by the deceased to the witnesses and the doctors at first hospital. (b) ECG findings. (c) Coronary Artery Blockage seen at autopsy Hence, I find no merit in the argument and disagree with the same. 8.5 Blood stains over neck, cloths are indicative of heart injury (The Caravan, Annexure 19, Page 47) * According to inquest panchnama and post mortem report, there deceased was wearing Grey Full Sleeve Shirt and blue color jeans pant with black belt. There is no mention of any blood stains. * When clothes are put back on the body after autopsy by the mortuary attendants, the precision and neatness of clothing cannot be compared to the way a living person may dress. * Af....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ic Medicine & Toxicology Seth GSMC & KEM Hospital, Mumbai. 68. We are not really considering here whether the opinion of Dr Pathak should be preferred to what was opined by Dr Kaul. The point of the matter is that facts have emerged from the record which indicate that a carefully orchestrated attempt has been made during the course of these hearings on behalf of the Centre for Public Interest Litigation to create evidence to cast a doubt on the circumstances leading to the death of Judge Loya. In their practice before this Court, Counsel are expected to assist the court with a sense of objectivity in aid of justice. What has happened here is that Mr. Prashant Bhushan has adopted a dual mantle, assuming the character of a counsel for the intervenor as well as an individual personally interested on behalf of the intervening organisation of which he is a member. He has gone to the length of personally collecting evidence to somehow bolster the case. The manner in which the opinion of Dr Kaul was obtained on the basis of a laconic questionnaire leaves much to be desired and is a singular reflection on the lack of objectivity which is to be expected from counsel appearing before....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....hat it would be in the interest of justice to accept the settlement between the parties and to give an end to the criminal proceedings so that the parties are in a position to maintain peace and harmony in the area where they reside. The criminal case was accordingly quashed. Mr. Dave has gone to the extent of insinuating that one individual is controlling the entire judiciary in Maharashtra and elsewhere. 70. We are rather surprised at the manner in which an insinuation has been made by producing the above order, which was passed in completely unrelated proceedings. The insinuation is against the judges of the Bombay High Court at Nagpur for having quashed a criminal case in which the present Chief Minister was involved. We are not called upon to evaluate the merits of the decision, save and except to note that the High Court in quashing the proceedings placed reliance on a decision of this Court and had noted that the dispute was admittedly private in nature where no element of public law was involved. The attempt of the Petitioners is to create prejudice and to malign the dignity of the judges, particularly of Justice BR Gavai. Copies of the criminal application and of the ord....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ictional tool to promote structural due process. 72. Yet over time, it has been realised that this jurisdiction is capable of being and has been brazenly misutilised by persons with a personal agenda. At one end of that spectrum are those cases where public interest petitions are motivated by a desire to seek publicity. At the other end of the spectrum are petitions which have been instituted at the behest of business or political rivals to settle scores behind the facade of a public interest litigation. The true face of the litigant behind the facade is seldom unraveled. These concerns are indeed reflected in the judgment of this Court in State of Uttaranchal v. Balwant Singh Chaufal (2010) 3 SCC 402. Underlining these concerns, this Court held thus: 143. Unfortunately, of late, it has been noticed that such an important jurisdiction which has been carefully carved out, created and nurtured with great care and caution by the courts, is being blatantly abused by filing some petitions with oblique motives. We think time has come when genuine and bona fide public interest litigation must be encouraged whereas frivolous public interest litigation should be discouraged. In our....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....e instituted these proceedings to protect judicial independence. An aura of good faith has been sought to be created by submitting that the true purpose of seeking an inquiry into the circumstances relating to the death of Judge Loya is to protect the district judiciary. But as the submissions have evolved, it has become clear that the petition is a veiled attempt to launch a frontal attack on the independence of the judiciary and to dilute the credibility of judicial institutions. Judicial review is a potent weapon to preserve the Rule of law. However, here we have been confronted with a spate of scurrilous allegations. Absent any title of proof that they are conspirators in a murder the court must stand by the statements of the judicial officers. The judges of the district judiciary are vulnerable to wanton attacks on their independence. This Court would be failing in its duty if it were not to stand by them. 75. We must in this context record what we have heard during the course of the submissions. Mr. Dave has urged that (i) he wants to cross-examine the judges; and (ii) he does not believe the judicial officers. Aspersions have been cast on the Administrative Committee of the....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....f two judges of the Bombay High Court. The conduct of the Petitioners and the intervenors scandalizes the process of the court and prima facie constitutes criminal contempt. However, on a dispassionate view of the matter, we have chosen not to initiate proceedings by way of criminal contempt if only not to give an impression that the litigants and the lawyers appearing for them have been subjected to an unequal battle with the authority of law. We rest in the hope that the Bar of the nation is resilient to withstand such attempts on the judiciary. The judiciary must continue to perform its duty even if it is not to be palatable to some. The strength of the judicial process lies not in the fear of a coercive law of contempt. The credibility of the judicial process is based on its moral authority. It is with that firm belief that we have not invoked the jurisdiction in contempt. E Conclusion 77. For the above reasons, we have come to the conclusion that there is absolutely no merit in the writ petitions. There is no reason for the court to doubt the clear and consistent statements of the four judicial officers. The documentary material on the record indicates that the death of Judg....