TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2018 (4) TMI 1855
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....il Ahmad Ayyubi, Adv., Mr.Abdul Qadir, 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 ....
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....for VIPs in Nagpur's Civil Lines locality, along with the judges he had accompanied to 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 elec....
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....regularly, which included entries from the days preceding and following her brother's death. In these, she noted many aspects of the incident that 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 sist....
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.... A diary entry by Biyani from the time reads, "There was blood on his collar. His belt was twisted in the opposite direction, and the pant clip is broken. Even my uncle feels that this 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 ....
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....mber, and hundreds of officials usually arrive in the city well in advance of assembly sessions for the preparations. Who were the other VIPs staying in Ravi Bhavan on 30 November and 1 December? "These all are very valid questions," Sarode, the 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....
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....p the body as if the PM was done and stitch it up." The report mentions "coronary artery insufficiency" as the probable cause of death. According to the renowned Mumbai-based cardiologist Hasmukh Ravat, "Usually old age, family history, smoking, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes 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 De....
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....buddin trial "should be conducted from beginning to end by the same officer." Loya had at first appeared well disposed towards Shah's request that he be exempted from personally appearing in court. As Outlook noted, "Utpat's successor Loya was indulgent, waiving Shah's personal appearance on each date." But this apparent indulgence may just have 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 s....
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.... the same time, there was going to be another explosive story which would ensure that people would not take notice of this." Loya's father Harkishan also told me that his son had confided in him about bribe offers. "Yes, he was offered money," Harkishan said. "Do you want a house in Mumbai, how much land do you want, how much money do you want, he used to tell us this. This was an offer." But, he added, 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." &n....
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....nother by Bandhuraj Sambhaji Lone Writ Petition (C) No. 20 of 2018. Each of these Petitioners has made similar averments, stating that the proceedings have been initiated for the "welfare of society" without any personal interest. Two writ petitions Public Interest Litigation (Crl.) No. 2 of 2018 and Public Interest Litigation(Crl.) No. 1 of 2018 were filed in the High Court of Judicature at Bombay: Bombay Lawyers' Association instituted the proceedings on 4 January 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....
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....ave heard Mr. Dushyant Dave, Ms. Indira Jaising, Mr. V. Giri, Mr. Pallav Shishodia, Mr. PV Surendranath, learned Senior Counsel and Mr. Kuldip Rai and Mr. Prashant Bhushan on behalf of the Petitioners and the intervenors. Mr. Mukul Rohtagi and Mr. Harish Salve, learned Senior Counsel have appeared for the Respondent State. 7. In view of the nature of the issue which has been raised in the proceedings, we have permitted learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the Petitioners as well as 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 tra....
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....t, he indicated that: 2. Following judicial officers had accompanied Mr. Loya to the hospital on 01/12/2014. i. Mr. Shrikant Kulkarni, Member Secretary Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority. ii. Mr. Modak-Principal District Judge, Pune iii. Mr. Barde-District Judge, City Civil Court, Mumbai iv. Mr. R.R. Rathi-District Judge, Baramati. Similarly, Hon'ble Justice Bhushan Gawai and Hon'ble Justice SB Shukre has also visited Meditrina Hospital, 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 da....
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....istered on the information of one Dr Prashant Rathi; (x) Dr Prashant Rathi was informed about Judge Loya's illness by his relative (Rukmesh Jakhotiya) from Aurangabad who requested him to help in attending to Judge Loya; (xi) The Caravan Article raised certain doubts about the role of one Ishwar Baheti. In that context, the report of the Commissioner contains the following explanation: 3.8 Mr. Ishwar Govindlal Baheti, who runs a medical pharmacy at Latur was an old friend of Mr. Loya for over 35 years. Ishwar Govindlal Baheti's eldest brother, Dr Hansraj Govindlal Baheti [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 ....
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....the absence of any bodily injury and notes the cause of death as "coronary artery insufficiency". The report of the Regional Forensic Science Laboratory indicates that no traces of poison have been found; (xv) The factual position indicates that Judge Loya suffered a heart attack in the early hours of 1 December 2014 and died in consequence. His body was sent to village Gategaon in Latur in an ambulance. Two judicial magistrates from Nagpur, Mr. Yogesh Rahangdale and Mr. Swayam Chopda were deputed by Judge Sonawane, Principal District Judge, Nagpur to accompany the body. The statement in the Caravan Article that the body was not accompanied by anyone is incorrect; (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 th....
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.... a CBI investigation into the killings of Sohrabuddin and his wife Kauserbi, a charge-sheet was submitted against a number of Accused including Amit Shah, the then Minister of State for Home in the State of Gujarat. Subsequently, in Narmada Bai v. State of Gujarat (2011) 5 SCC 79 this Court directed a separate investigation by the CBI into the killing of Tulsiram Prajapati, which, it has been submitted, was a part of the conspiracy to kill Sohrabuddin and Kauserbi. In issuing these directions, this Court held thus: It is not in dispute that it is the age-old maxim that justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done. The fact that in the case of murder of an associate of Tulsiram Prajapati, senior police officials 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 Chandr....
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....Court". After Judge Loya died on 1 December 2014, a new appointment of Judge MB Gosavi was initiated. The discharge application was allowed on 30 December 2014. Mr. Dave has categorically stated before the Court that the legality of the order of discharge is not being questioned in the present proceedings. CBI, it has been submitted, did not assail the order of discharge though it subsequently filed appeals against the discharge of some police officers. Rubabuddin, the original Petitioner also challenged the order of discharge but withdrew the application for condonation of delay thus rendering the criminal revision application as not maintainable before the Bombay High Court. 12. Based on this background, Mr. Dave has submitted that the Respondents 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 inquir....
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....nt for post-mortem indicates that rigor mortis was well marked; (iv) The report of the Regional Forensic Science Laboratory dated 5 February 2015 indicates that the viscera did not reveal any trace of poison. Analysis commenced on 5 January 2015 and was completed on 19 January 2015 in pursuance of AD 44/2014 of PS Sadar Under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. On 1 December 2014 Sitabardi police station which was investigating the matter had forwarded the body for post-mortem through police constable Pankaj. Doubt has been cast on the histopathological report of 5 February 2015 on the ground that it refers to PS Sadar instead of Sitabardi. On 10 December 2014, Sadar police station addressed a letter to the Government Medical hospital, Nagpur to correct 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 ....
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....thdrawn on 24 November 2014 a week before his death; (x) The Commissioner in the State Intelligence Department did not meet any person nor did he visit any place to satisfy himself of the truthfulness of the statements or facts; (xi) The statement of Dr Prashant Rathi was recorded on 22 November 2017 by the police at Nagpur though the discreet inquiry was ordered on 23 November 2017; (xii) The press interviews given by Justice Bhushan Gavai and Justice SB Shukre of the Bombay High Court to the Indian Express on 27 November 2017 contain a repetition of what the four district judges had mentioned in their letters. This raised a grave suspicion as to why the interviews were given to the press in the first place; (xiii) The Commissioner ought to have examined the statements made by the father, sister and son of 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 ....
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....s: (i) The absence of any entry in the register at Ravi Bhavan recording the name of Judge Loya as an occupant on 30 November and 1 December 2014; (ii) The improbability of three judicial officers residing in one room of Ravi Bhavan; (iii) The mis-spelling of the name of Judge Loya in the records of Dande hospital and Meditrina hospital and in the post-mortem report, despite the fact that several judicial officers were alleged to be present; (iv) Non-production of the ECG carried out at Dande hospital and the date of 30 November 2014 contained in the ECG published in the Indian Express on 27 November 2017; (v) The statement of judge Rathi that the ECG facility at Dande hospital was not working; (vi) The failure of the police to involve the Executive Magistrate on 1 December 2014 when an accident report was generated at Sitabardi police station at 8.30 am; (vii) Contradictions in the post-mortem report: (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 ....
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.... Under Section 174 Code of Criminal Procedure, nor was an FIR recorded; and (xvi) Ms. Jaising adverted to the decision in Zahira Habibullah Sheikh v. State of Gujarat (2006) 3 SCC 374 in which it was held: 35. This Court has often emphasised that in a criminal case the fate of the proceedings cannot always be left entirely in the hands of the parties, crime being public wrong in breach and violation of public rights and duties, which affects the whole community as a community and is harmful to society in general. The concept of fair trial entails familiar triangulation of interests of the Accused, the victim and the society and it is the community that acts through the State and prosecuting agencies. Interest of society is not to be treated completely with disdain and as persona non grata. The courts have always been considered to have an overriding duty to maintain public confidence in the administration of justice--often referred to as the duty to vindicate and uphold the "majesty of the law". Due administration of justice has always been viewed as a continuous process, not confined to determination of the particular case, protecting its ability to f....
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....ents by the family in documents produced by the State of Maharashtra; (e) Non-compliance with the provisions of Section 174 Code of Criminal Procedure; (f) The absence of the family during the post-mortem; (g) The handing over of the body to Dr Prashant Rathi who was a stranger; (h) The misspelling of the name of the deceased in medical documents; (i) The absence of the name of Judge Loya in the occupancy register of Ravi Bhavan; (j) The transfer of the earlier judge, Judge Utpat a day before the hearing of the Sohrabuddin trial in the teeth of the judgment in CBI v. Amitbhai Anil Chandra Shah (2012) 10 SCC 545; and (k) The fact that the incoming judicial officer after Judge Loya's death discharged one of the Accused within a month of his assuming charge. C Mr. PV Surendranath: 17. Mr. PV Surendranath, learned Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of All India Lawyers' Union, an intervenor, submitted that the scope of the present hearing is only confined to the death of Judge Loya on 1 December 2014 and does not extend to the "Sohrabuddin fake encounter case trial.. o....
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....of a person who has had a serious myocardial one to two hours before this ECG is done? 2. Is the histopathology report of his coronary arteries and heart muscle consistent with his death being due to acute myocardial infarction or coronary thrombosis? 3. In addition I would also like to ask you whether a person who has died due to myocardial infarction could show significant congestion of the dura, liver, spleen, kidney, larynx, trachea and Bronchi, lungs. Is it possible for this congestion of all his organs as mentioned in the post mortem report, to have taken place because of CPR administrated at the time of his death? In reply Dr Kaul has stated thus: 1. Most unlikely, the ECG has no evidence of a recent myocardial infraction. 2. The histopathology of heart muscle says it is normal. The coronary artery block in LAD could be an innocent bystander. 3. Unlikely to be because of a recent MI but could be because of an intensive CPR. Mr. Bhushan submitted that he has also spoken to "other reputed cardiologists" who have "also given essentially the same opinion". Mr. Bhushan has submitted that the statemen....
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....dence of the judiciary, the nature of the allegations and the tenor of the submissions indicate that the effort is to launch a frontal attack on judicial independence. Judges of the district judiciary are in a vulnerable position and it was urged that it is all the more necessary in the facts of this case for this Court to assert its authority to protect them from the indiscriminate attacks levelled by counsel appearing on behalf of the Petitioners. B Mr. Mukul Rohtagi: 23. Mr. Mukul Rohtagi, learned Senior Counsel submitted that though the batch of present cases is styled as petitions filed in the public interest, reality is far away from the principles enunciated by this Court in State of Uttaranchal v. Balwant Singh Chaufal (2010) 3 SCC 402. The petitions as well as the submissions urged in support constitute an attempt to scandalise the judiciary and sensationalise the issue. Mr. Mukul Rohatgi submitted that: (i) Judge Loya died on 1 December 2014 at Nagpur and was cremated at Gategaon, near Latur in the presence of his family and friends. Three years later, on 20 and 21 November 2017 articles were published in Caravan which was followed by a flurry of w....
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....or any motive not to speak the truth. Minor contradictions should not result in the statements being discarded since they are not of consequence. Minor contradictions are in fact natural when events which took place three years earlier are recalled. Moreover, this Court is not hearing a regular criminal appeal after a full-fledged trial; (viii) The ECG was taken at Dande hospital and was evidently carried to Meditrina hospital. The progress notes of the doctor at Meditrina hospital advert to the nature of the ECG and it also forms a part of the record. Significantly Judge Barde has deposed to the fact that an ECG was done though Judge Rathi has stated that at Dande hospital the nodes of the ECG machine were not in order; (ix) After the death had occurred, an inquest was conducted Under Section 174 Code of Criminal Procedure in the mortuary of the Government Medical College at Nagpur. Thereafter a post-mortem was conducted which indicated that the death was due to coronary artery insufficiency. The post-mortem was necessitated because Judge Loya was brought dead to Meditrina hospital. A request was made to the forensic science laboratory on 1 December 2....
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....wledges that it was at Ravi Bhavan that they had stayed during their visit to Nagpur; (xvi) Immediately on the publication of the Caravan report on 11 February 2018 containing a reference to the opinion purportedly given by Dr Sharma, two letters dated 14 February 2018 were addressed to AIIMS with reference to the opinion. AIIMS in its reply has specifically clarified that it is not a practice to give such information. Dr Sharma has clarified that he was grossly misquoted by Caravan and that the conclusions in the Article are imaginary; (xvii) The police inspector at Nagpur addressed a communication to Dr Harish Pathak, Head of Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology at KEM hospital, Mumbai. The report submitted by Dr Pathak specifically mentions that the findings in the post-mortem and histopathology reports are indicative of acute coronary insufficiency; (xviii) The manner in which the Petitioners have conducted themselves is evident from the innuendos attaching to the reliance by Mr. Dave on an order of the Nagpur bench of the High Court, quashing a criminal prosecution against several Petitioners of whom the fourth Petitioner ....
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.... inspection by learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the Petitioners and intervenors. Moreover, Mr. Rohatgi urged that the state would willingly accept any directions of the Court, in addition to the material which was filed. Under the order of this Court learned Counsel were permitted to provide a list of such documents to counsel for the state, if any additional documents were required to be produced. We have also scrutinised with the assistance of counsel, the material which has been produced by counsel for the Petitioners and intervenors besides the material produced by the state without regard to technicalities of procedure. This batch of cases has been heard fully. Hearings have been convened over ten dates of judicial sitting. We find no justification at this stage to call upon the state to file affidavits since a full and complete opportunity has been granted to all the parties and their counsel to address submissions on every aspect of the case that they desire to address. The entire record is before the court. Section 174 Code of Criminal Procedure. 27. Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 provides thus: 174. Police to enquire and repor....
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.... on the road as would render such examination useless. (4) The following Magistrates are empowered to hold inquests, namely, any District Magistrate or Sub-divisional Magistrate and any other Executive Magistrate specially empowered in this behalf by the State Government or the District Magistrate. 28. Section 174 deals with a situation where information is received by an officer in-charge of a police station of a person having committed suicide, or having been killed (i) by another; or (ii) by an animal; or (iii) by machinery or (iv) by an accident or of having died under circumstances raising a reasonable suspicion that some other person has committed an offence. In any of these situations, the police officer is required to furnish intimation immediately to the nearest Executive Magistrate who is empowered to hold inquests. He is required to proceed to the place where the body is situated and in the presence of two witnesses to make an investigation and draw up a report of the apparent cause of death. The report would describe the wounds including marks of injury which are found on the body and in what manner or by what weapon or instrument if any they appear to....
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.... the neighbourhood. The Section does not contemplate that the manner in which the incident took place or the names of the Accused should be mentioned in the inquest report. The basic purpose of holding an inquest is to report regarding the apparent cause of death, namely, whether it is suicidal, homicidal, accidental or by some machinery etc. (Id at page 641) The view in Pedda Narayana (supra) has been approved by a three judge Bench in Khujji @ Surendra Tiwari v. State of Madhya Pradesh (1991) 3 SCC 627. Hence in Radha Mohan Singh Alias Lal Saheb v. State of U.P. (2006) 2 SCC 450, a Bench of three learned judges formulated the principle in the following terms: Thus, it is well settled by a catena of decisions of this Court that the purpose of holding an inquest is very limited viz. to ascertain as to whether a person has committed suicide or has been killed by another 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. There is absolutely no requirement in law of mentioning the details of the FIR, names of the Accused or the names of the eyewitnesses or t....
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.... etc. and stating in what manner, or by what weapon or instrument, the injuries on the body appear to have been inflicted. (See Pedda Narayana v. State of A.P. [Pedda Narayana v. State of A.P. (1975) 4 SCC 153 : 1975 SCC (Cri) 427], Khujji v. State of M.P. [Khujji v. State of M.P. (1991) 3 SCC 627 : 1991 SCC (Cri) 916], Kuldip Singh v. State of Punjab [Kuldip Singh v. State of Punjab 1992 Supp (3) SCC 1 : 1992 SCC (Cri) 946], George v. State of Kerala [George v. State of Kerala 1998 SCC (Cri) 1232], Suresh Rai v. State of Bihar [Suresh Rai v. State of Bihar, (2000) 4 SCC 84 : 2000 SCC (Cri) 764], Amar Singh v. Balwinder Singh [Amar Singh v. Balwinder Singh (2003) 2 SCC 518 : 2003 SCC (Cri) 641], Radha Mohan Singh v. State of U.P. [Radha Mohan Singh v. State of U.P. (2006) 2 SCC 450 : (2006) 1 SCC (Cri) 661] and Sambhu Das v. State of Assam [Sambhu Das v. State of Assam (2010) 10 SCC 374 : (2010) 3 SCC (Cri) 1301].) 31. Sub-section (3) of Section 174 requires the police officer to forward the body for being examined to the nearest civil surgeon, or as the case may be, to a duly qualified medical person appointed by the state government in this behalf, in the circumstances set out....
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.... (b) rape is alleged to have been committed on any woman, while such person or woman is in the custody of the police or in any other custody authorized by the Magistrate or the Court, under this Code in addition to the inquiry or investigation held by the police, an inquiry shall be held by the Judicial Magistrate or the Metropolitan Magistrate, as the case may be, within whose local jurisdiction the offence has been committed. (2) The Magistrate holding such an inquiry shall record the evidence taken by him in connection therewith in any manner hereinafter prescribed according to the circumstances of the case. (3) Whenever such Magistrate considers it expedient to make an examination of the dead body of any person who has been already interred, in order to discover the cause of his death, the Magistrate may cause the body to be disinterred and examined. (4) Where an inquiry is to be held under this section, the Magistrate shall, wherever practicable, inform the relatives of the deceased whose names and addresses are known, and shall allow them to remain present at the inquiry. (5) The Judicial Magistrate or the ....
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....The steps which were taken to revive the patient are recorded and it has been stated that in spite of resuscitative efforts, the patient could not be revived and was declared dead at 6.15 am on 1 December 2014. The death summary records that a post-mortem was advised for ascertaining the cause of death. A death report was accordingly issued on 1 December 2014 by the duty medical officer at Meditrina. The post-mortem became necessary because, Judge Loya was 'brought dead'. 35. At 8.30 am on 1 December 2014, the police station at Sitabardi (within whose jurisdiction Meditrina hospital is located) recorded the statement of Dr Prashant B Rathi. The statement is to the effect that the deceased was related to his uncle. The deceased had travelled to Nagpur for attending a marriage and was residing at Ravi Bhavan, Civil Lines. When he complained at 0400 hours of chest pain, he was admitted to Meditrina hospital where he was declared as "brought dead" at 0600 hours. On the basis of the statement of Dr Prashant Rathi, the death report (marg khabri) was drawn up Under Section 174 of Code of Criminal Procedure bearing AD 00/14. The statement of Dr Rathi is reproduced in the death r....
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....D 44/14 Under Section 174 Code of Criminal Procedure. The registration of the AD at Sadar police station is at 1600 hours on 1 December 2014. Ravi Bhavan falls within the jurisdiction of Sadar police station. 39. On 1 December 2014, the duty officer at Sadar police station addressed a communication to the Deputy Director of the Forensic Laboratory, Dhantoli, Nagpur, and sought a chemical analysis of the samples of the viscera and of a bottle of blood which had been preserved. Analysis of the samples commenced on 5 January 2015 and ended on 19 January 2015. On 5 February 2015 the Assistant Chemical Analyser in the Regional Forensic Science Laboratory submitted his report stating that: general and specific: chemical testing does not reveal any poison in exhibit Nos. (1), (2) and (3). Exhibits (1), (2) and (3) are respectively samples of the stomach, liver, spleen and kidney and blood. 40. In the records of Meditrina hospital referred to earlier, the name of the deceased was referred to as Brijmohan H Loya. It appears from the postmortem report that the name of the deceased was initially recorded as Brijmohan Harikishan Loya. The records of Meditrina hospital a....
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....dence of assault. The summary was accordingly submitted to the Special Executive Magistrate, Sadar division, Nagpur. Statements of four judicial officers 42. Now it is in this background, that it would be necessary to advert to the statements of the judicial officers which were recorded during the course of the discreet inquiry in November 2017. A discreet inquiry was ordered on 23 November 2017 by the Home department of the state government following the reports which were published in Caravan on 20 and 21 November 2017. Mr. Rohtagi has apprised the court that in ordering the discreet inquiry, the state took recourse to the provisions of its Vigilance Manual. The Manual of Instructions provides for the procedure which is to be followed in conducting discreet inquiries. In the present case, following the news reports published in Caravan, the death being of a judge from the state judicial service, a discreet inquiry was ordered particularly in the context of the innuendos contained in the news reports. Quite apart from the Manual, the state government is not prohibited in law from holding such an enquiry in the exercise of its executive power. 43. The Commissioner of the S....
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....he nearby Dande Hospital by using car of Shri Barde where emergency treatment was given to Shri Loya. Shri Waiker, Judge also joined there by his car. However chest pains continued. As per Doctor's advice Shri Loya was required to be shifted to Cardiac Hospital. Accordingly, Shri Loya was immediately taken to Meditrina Hospital, Nagpur. We accompanied with him in the car. Shri Rathi who was working as Deputy Registrar called his relative Doctor to rush at Meditrina Hospital. We rushed to Meditrina Hospital, however on the way Shri Loya collapsed. We put him on the stretcher and took to the I.C.U. where Doctor started immediate treatment. After giving treatment no response from Shri Loya was seen. Unfortunately, Shri Loya succumbed to death due to massive heart attack on early morning of 1st December 2014. We communicated this unfortunate incident to the Hon'ble Shri Justice PR Bora as well as Hon'ble Shri Justice BR Gavai. We also informed the said unfortunate incident to Shri Sham Joshi, Principal Secretary to the Hon'ble The Chief Justice whose sitting was at Nagpur that time. Hon'ble Shri B R Gavai, Hon'ble Shri Justice SB Shukre and Hon....
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....er, we returned Ravi Bhavan almost at about 11.30 pm to 12 midnight. j. During our way back, we stopped at one square. I remember Judge Mahajan was also with us but in different car. He offered us famous pan. He left to his house as he had to catch night train for Mumbai and we returned to Ravi Bhavan. k. We slept in one room. At about early morning probable at 4 am Judge Loya woke up. He was not feeling comfort. Myself and Judge Kulkarni called local judges probably Judge Barde and Judge Rathi. l. I do not exactly remember both of them or single. m. In a car we took Judge Loya to Dande Hospital. After initial check up, doctor advised him to shift him to another hospital n. We shifted Judge Loya to another hospital. I do not remember the name. We shifted him in a car. I also remember another local Judge Shri Waiker had also come in his car. o. At the hospital doctors have declared him dead. p. We have informed this fact to our judges at Hajiali colony. q. We all were in shock. I do not exactly remember who informed this fact to family members of Loya. &nb....
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....en I took the Car in the porch of Meditrina Hospital, Shri Loya Sir did not awake and was rushed on a stretcher to the ICU of the said Hospital. He was immediately taken in and the doctors started treatment. We stayed outside ICU. However, after sometime the Doctor came out, and told that when Shri Loya Sir was taken in ICU, his pulses were not working, and that they were trying out their best to make him revive. While Shri Loya Sir was in ICU, I tried to contact the friends of Shri Loya Sir at Haji Ali, Govt. Colony, where he was residing. Shri O.K. Bhutada, Senior Civil Judge, could be contacted, whom the entire occurrence was told. Shri Modak Sir and Shri Kulkarni Sir also contacted the other friends of Shri Loya Sir at Haji Ali, known to them and told the occurrence to them. Local judges were also called at Hospital. The Hon'ble High Court Judges, and Judges from District Judiciary, and some Court Staff approached to the Hospital, and some were consulting the Doctor. Judge Shri Bhutada from Mumbai, provided my mobile number to the near relatives of Shri Loya Sir, and by making call to me, told that I should inform the happenings at Hospital to such near relat....
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....uously telling about severe chest pain and heart burn. At that time the doctor tried to do his ECG but the nodes of ECG machine were broken. Doctor tried and wasted sometime but machine was not working. I think he gave 2 injections to Mr. Loya. I asked the doctor he said it of antacid and painkiller. Mr. Loya was again complaining chest pain. I called my brother (cousin) Dr Pankaj Harkut, who is a cardiologist but his phone ringed but he did not picked my phone. After sometime he called me and I told him all these things. He immediately told me to brought him to Meditrina Hospital at Ramdaspeth Nagpur. It was 5.00 am, approx. that time. Thereafter I seated in car of Judge Waiker. Mr. Loya seated in the car of Barde and Shri Kulkarni and Modak accompanied the. Thereafter we proceeded to Meditrina Hospital. At Meditrina Hospital when we reached that time Mr. Loya was unconscious and was unable to speak. Then he was taken inside hospital for treatment. Thereafter Dr Pankaj Harkut also came there. Mr. Loya was treated at that hospital. After sometime we came to know that Mr. Loya suffered heart attack. Thereafter we came to know that he died. It was very unfortunate that Mr. Loya died ....
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....e and Baramati is absolutely no ground to cast doubt. The statements were submitted with dispatch. Reading them it is clear that they have been submitted without pre-meditation. The four judicial officers acted responsibly. There was no reason for them either to hasten or to cause a delay in submitting their versions of what they knew. Each of the four judges has acted with a sense of duty. This is how they would be expected to conduct themselves, in answering to a call of duty. 47. One of the submissions which has been urged by Mr. Dave to cast doubt on the statements is that an Article was published in the Indian Express in which the statements of two judges of the High Court (Justice Bhushan Gavai and Justice SB Shukre) were published. Mr. Dave submitted that the statements of the judicial officers cannot be regarded as independent, in view of the fact that two judges of the High Court had taken the same view as elicited in the Indian Express article, that the death of Judge Loya was due to natural causes. Mr. Dave submitted that judicial officers in the district judiciary could not be expected to take a plea at variance with what was stated by the two judges of the High Cour....
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....uct of the colleagues of Judge Loya in attending to him is not in question. They did their best under the circumstances, acting entirely in good faith. At Dande hospital, the medical advise was that the condition of Judge Loya required him to be shifted to a specialised cardiac hospital. Judge Rathi who was attached to the Nagpur Bench of the High Court at the material time was with Judge Kulkarni and Judge Modak when he was shifted to the hospital, as was Judge Waikar. Dr Pankaj Harkut who was a relative of Judge Rathi was a cardiac consultant attached to the Meditrina hospital. Judge Rathi contacted him on phone and it was at his suggestion that the judges took a decision to shift Judge Loya to Meditrina. To find fault with the judges for this course of action is unacceptable. But there is another and more serious aspect of the line of submissions which has been urged. Though as we have noted earlier, the proceedings have been purportedly instituted to protect the independence of the judiciary, this is one more instance where behaviour in court belies the ostensible position of the Petitioners, intervenors and their counsel. It is as if the judicial officers are in the dock. We h....
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.... whom Mr. Prashant Bhushan appears. Having regard to the fact that the ECG has been specifically mentioned in the progress notes of the doctor at Meditrina hospital, we find no reasonable basis to infer that no ECG was done at Dande hospital. 50. The statements of the four judges are called into question by Mr. Dave, counsel for the Petitioners, pointing out certain alleged inconsistencies. It has been urged that the Caravan Article states that no car was available at 4 am on 1 December 2014 at Ravi Bhavan and hence Judge Loya was transported by an auto-rickshaw to Dande hospital. Mr. Dave criticised the conduct of the judicial officers and submitted that it is inconceivable that at a government guest house, a car and driver would not have been available even in the early hours of the morning. The submission lacks merit. Judge Kulkarni has stated that Judge Loya was taken in Judge Barde's car to Dande hospital. Judge Modak also notes that Judge Loya was shifted by car to Dande hospital and thereafter to Meditrina. This is confirmed in the statements of Judge Barde and Judge Rathi. The allegation that Judge Loya was not provided even a car to travel from Ravi Bhavan to Dande ....
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....at Nagpur and until Judge Loya died on 1 December 2014. They have provided a trustworthy account of their Schedule since they left Mumbai. All of them travelled together, stayed together, visited local judges at Nagpur, attended the wedding and remained in the company of each other and their friends in the judicial fraternity. 54. Ms Jaising sought to rely on a photograph of a room in Ravi Bhavan and wondered how three judges would have shared a room. Judge Kulkarni has referred to the fact that a VIP suite was booked at Ravi Bhavan. Judge Modak and Judge Barde support the position. The account provided by the judge cannot be discredited on the basis of surmises. The occupancy register does show that the room was in the name of Judge Kulkarni. His account is that his two friends and colleagues (Judge Loya and Judge Modak) shared the accommodation with him. It is unfair to disbelieve this account of colleagues in the district judiciary. They were friends, known to each other and had stayed together at Ravi Bhavan during the short trip to Nagpur. No counsel has suggested that they were not closely acquainted to each other. 55. The date of the death in the post-mortem is not men....
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....oya had died. If a considered decision was taken by the members of his family to proceed to Gategon instead of travelling first to Nagpur and then traversing a distance of nearly 450 kilometres by road to the place where the funeral was to be held, such a decision has to be respected. Moreover, the allegation that the body was sent unaccompanied to Gategaon is contrary to what has emerged on the record. Judge Kulkarni in the course of his statement made a reference to the fact that while the body was sent by an ambulance to the place where Judge Loya originally belonged, two judicial officers from Nagpur were also sent in another car to accompany the body. Judge SM Modak in his statement dated 24 November 2017 specifically notes that Shri Sonawane, the Principal District Judge then at Nagpur, deputed two local judges to accompany the dead body. Judge VC Barde has also stated that after the conclusion of the post-mortem at about 11 am, the dead body was sent in an ambulance to the native place of Judge Loya and two judges; Judge Rahangdale and Judge Chopda accompanied the body. The report of the discreet inquiry by the Commissioner, SID contains the following observation: &....
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....avour of the version of the four judicial officers unless strong and indisputable circumstances are shown to doubt their credibility. This would be in the larger public interest, to uphold the independence and integrity of the institution. This is corroborated by a photocopy of the occupancy register which has been produced on record. All the three judicial officers were invited for the same event. If as friends and colleagues, they decided to share one room, that cannot be regarded as an unnatural course of conduct. There is no reason for this Court to discard the consistent statements of the three judicial officers by engaging in surmises of the nature which are sought to be drawn by counsel for the Petitioners. In fact, though nothing would turn on it, it is a matter of some interest that even the Article that was published in the Caravan on 20 November 2017 records Judge Loya having had a conversation with his wife on the night of 30 November 2014 and informing her of the fact that he was staying at Ravi Bhavan together with the judges who had accompanied him to Nagpur. 59. At this stage, we must also make a reference to certain other matters to which a reference has been co....
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..... During the course of his submissions in rejoinder, Mr. Dave has attempted to discredit the discreet inquiry conducted by the Commissioner of the SID urging that the statement of Dr Prashant Rathi was recorded on 22 November 2017 by the Police Inspector (Crime) police station Sadar, before the state government had ordered a discreet inquiry on 23 November 2017. The submission is based on the hypothesis that the statement of Dr Rathi was recorded as a part of the discreet inquiry. This is seriously disputed by Mr. Rohtagi who urged that the statement was recorded by the Sadar police station on 22 November 2017 after the articles in the Caravan had appeared on 20 and 21 November 2017. The discreet enquiry was held by the Commissioner, SID. Be that as it may, the presence of Dr Prashant Rathi is established in the accidental death summary (AD 00/14) dated 1 December 2014, in the inquest report, the receipt executed on 1 December 2014 by Sitabardi police station on handing over the dead body, and in the accidental death summary (AD 44/14) recorded by Sadar police station at 1600 hours on 1 December 2014. In the face of the contemporaneous documentary material, the statement of Dr Rath....
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....ired by a party bona fide and that such a witness can be produced, an order shall not be made authorising the evidence of the witness to be given by affidavit. Under Rule 2, a discretion is vested in the court to order the attendance for cross-examination of the deponent of an affidavit. Under Order IX, a discretion is vested in the court to allow cross-examination of a person who has filed an affidavit. A party to a proceeding before this Court -particularly a proceeding Under Article 32 - cannot demand as of right the production of a person, who has filed an affidavit, for cross-examination. Whether cross-examination should be allowed has to be determined by the court having regard to the interests of justice. Mr. Dave submitted that this Court should, in the first place, direct that the above persons should file affidavits before this Court and that upon the filing of those affidavits, they should be produced for cross-examination by him. In support of his submissions Mr. Dave relied a few decisions of this Court. In K.K. Kochunni v. State of Madras (supra) this Court held: 12 ...it is possible very often to decide questions of fact on affidavits. If the petition ....
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....ity with nothing more substantial by way of answer. This is precisely the situation in which we find ourselves in the present case. Reliance was placed on the decision in Sher Singh In Re (1997) 3 SCC 216. The submission which has been urged is based on a mis-appreciation both of the role of the Petitioners and on the scope of these proceedings. The Petitioners have moved this Court in a petition filed in the public interest. Their position is that of a relator who seeks to bring a grievance to the attention of the court for the purpose of seeking a court mandated inquiry. None of the persons whose cross-examination has been sought is a witness in the present proceedings. The court is essentially required to consider to whether a case has been made out on behalf of the Petitioners (supported by the intervenors) for directing an inquiry into the circumstances leading to the death of Judge Loya. As part of this process, the court has to decide as to whether the inquiry which has been conducted by the state is vitiated and if circumstances have been brought to the notice of the court which cast a reasonable suspicion about the events leading upto the death of Judge Loya. The Pet....
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....on for intervention has been sworn by Mr. Prashant Bhushan personally. Mr. Prashant Bhushan appeared on behalf of the intervenor as its counsel during the course of the hearing and not as a party in person. 66. In response, Mr. Mukul Rohtagi has placed on the record copies of two letters dated 14 and 16 February 2018 addressed to Dr Sidharth Gupta, Head of the Department of Forensic Medicine at AIIMS by the Senior Police Inspector at PS Sadar, Nagpur. A clarification was specifically sought in regard to the opinion furnished by Dr RK Sharma. In a response dated 3 March 2018, Dr Abhishek Yadav, Assistant Professor and Member Secretary, Departmental Committee, Department of Forensic Medicine, AIIMS has stated that besides constituting a committee of three doctors to examine the issue, AIIMS had addressed a letter seeking a clarification from Dr RK Sharma. The letter extracts the following reply sent by Dr RK Sharma to AIIMS: Thanks for your mail, I would like to state that I have been grossly misquoted by Caravan magazine regarding death of Judge Loya. The conclusions drawn are imaginary. I had general discussion with the reporter. I do not agree with contents of re....
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....ocuments and histopathology report of the Government Medical College. In response, Dr Pathak by his email dated 14 February 2018 sought additional documents. These were furnished by the Senior Police Inspector, Sadar. Dr Harish Pathak has in a detailed and considered opinion categorically stated that the conclusion of the post-mortem that the death was due to coronary artery insufficiency is valid and is in accordance with medical knowledge on the subject. The opinion has been supported by references to medical texts. 67. The opinion of Dr Harish Pathak is extracted below: I have carefully perused the following documents: 1. Autopsy note of Shri Loya 2. ECG report 3. Histopathology report. 4. ADR. 5. Panchnama. 6. C.A. Report. 7. Statement of Dr Rathi, Dr Gavande, Dr Harkut, Dr Ganar. 8. Hospital (Meditrina) reports (Progress notes & MLC). 9. Two Articles from the Caravan magazine dated 26/01/18 & 11/02/18. Based upon all the documents made available to me and the recent medical literature, I would like to state as u....
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....o the statement of Dr Pankaj Harkut, Director of Cardiology centre at Meditrina Institute of Medical Sciences, he had reviewed the ECG from Dhande Hospital which in his opinion showed tall T-Waves. (Annexure 2, Page 2a) As per, American Journal of Emergency Medicine (2007), Hyperacute T wave, the early sign of myocardial infarction; 25, 859. El -859. e7 The three main differential diagnoses of HATW (hyper acute T waves) on electrocardiogram are: (i) left ventricular hypertrophy, (ii) hyperkalemia and (iii) early repolarization variant. (Annexure 9, Page 13) 5. As per the statement of Dr Ninad D Gavande, MBBS, MD FMT, attached as honorary medico-legal consultant at Meditrina Hospital he had reviewed all relevant documents before the body was forwarded for autopsy examination. (Annexure 16, Page 33) The body was shifted to Government Medical College mortuary and Panchnama was done wherein no external marks of injuries were noted. 6. Autopsy examination was conducted on 01-12-2017 from 10:50 am to 11:55 am at Government Medical College Nagpur, by Dr N K Tumram, who was then working as a lecturer at Forensic Med....
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....l 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 histopathology examination. The result of histopathology examination are not inconsistent with the observations at autopsy examination described and explained as above. As to claims made by Newspaper Article: 8.1. No Claim of Myocardial Infarction in the Histopathological report (The Caravan, Annexure 19, Page 46) * The earliest signs of Myocardial Infarction which can be detected through naked eyes and histopathological examination appears not before 12 to 24 hours after the survival after acute coronary insufficiency. (Annexure 12, Page 20) * Dr Bernard Knight, in his book KNIGHT'S FORENSIC PATHOLOGY writes, "Most sudden deaths from Coronary artery insufficiency do not have Myocardial Infarction, even when the most sophisticated techniques are employed for its detection. Neither do the majority have a coronary thrombosis, though severe coronary stenosis is by definition present. (Annexure 12, Page 23) * A narrowing of the lumen....
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....ere 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. * After autopsy examination is over, the incisions over neck, chest, abdomen and head on the dead body are sutured after putting the dissected organs back in to the cavities. In spite of every precaution being taken to make sure that there is no leakage of post mortem blood from the stitched post mortem wounds, sometimes, minor leakage of blood tinged body fluid can happen. The chances of such leakage become high when bodies are being transported for long distances as it had happened in the present case. 8.6 Every single item is congested hence possibility of poisoning. (Annexure 19, Page 17) This is absolutely unscientific opinion. In case of sudden cardiac deaths when heart suddenly stops beating, presence of congestions of almost all the organ is an expected finding. In fact, congestion is such a common and nonspeci....
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....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 this Court. This has bordered on an attempt to misrepresent the facts and mislead the court. 69. During the course of his submissions, Mr. Dave filed before this Court a compilation, inter alia, consisting of a proceeding instituted Under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Criminal Application 824 of 2014) before the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court by five Petitioners for quashing a criminal case pending on the file of the Joint Civil Judge, Junior Division and JMFC, Nagpur. The fourth Petitioner in the proceeding is Devendra Gangadhar Fadnavis, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. The case relates to an incident which took place on 7 June 1991 on account of the removal of certain construction in Nagpur. As a result, two crimes came to be ....
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.... 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 order of the Bombay High Court form part of the same compilation in which is also annexed a copy of the Article published in the Indian Express of 27 November 2017, referring to the statements of Justice Gavai and Justice Shukre. This is another instance in the course of the hearing of the present case where a matter extraneous to the subject of the inquiry before the court has been sought to be relied upon to somehow sensationalise the case. What is worse is the manner in which wholly unfounded aspersions have been cast on the judges of the Bombay High Court following a decision which has been taken in the judicial capacity. This constitutes a serious attempt to scandalise the court and obstruct the course of justice. Public Interest Litigation ....
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....t 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 considered opinion, we have to protect and preserve this important jurisdiction in the larger interest of the people of this country but we must take effective steps to prevent and cure its abuse on the basis of monetary and non-monetary directions by the courts. 73. The misuse of public interest litigation is a serious matter of concern for the judicial process. Both this Court and the High Courts are flooded with litigation and are burdened by arrears. Frivolous or motivated petitions, ostensibly invoking the public interest detract from the time and attention which courts must devote to genuine causes. This Court has a long list of pending cases where the personal liberty of citizens is involved. Those who await trial or the r....
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.... 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 Bombay High Court. This Court has been called upon to issue a notice of contempt to the judges on the Committee at the relevant time. Ms Jaising has joined the fray by requesting that this Court to issue contempt notices to the Administrative Committee of the Bombay High Court. Junior counsel appearing with Mr. Giri went to the extent of urging that the judicial officers whose statements were recorded during the discreet inquiry are suspect. Even the judges of this Bench hearing the present proceedings, have not been spared from this vituperative assault on the judiciary. 76. Mr. Prashant Bhushan argued that because two of the judges constituting the present Bench (Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud) were ....
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....he 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 Judge Loya was due to natural causes. There is no ground for the court to hold that there was a reasonable suspicion about the cause or circumstances of death which would merit a further inquiry. 78. The hearings commenced on 2 February 2018 and ended on 16 March 2018. The batch of cases was heard on 2 February 2018, 5 February 2018, 9 February 2018, 12 February 2018, 19 February 2018, 5 March 2018, 8 March 2018, 9 March 2018 and 16 March 2018. Having regard to the large volume of work, we had considered it appropriate to list the hearings at 2 pm on Mondays and Fridays, after the miscellaneous cases had been dealt with. The conduct of the Petitioners and the intervenors is, as we have indicated, lacking in bona fides and ....