SC lawyer seeks fair probe in medical admission, Judge Loya cases

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 9

Supreme Court senior advocate and former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Dushyant Dave today demanded fair investigation in Kalikho Pul, medical admission and Loya cases.

In Kalikho Pul, medical admission college case and Loya case, the judiciary must order an independent investigation — more particularly, when courts are taking suo motu notices in trivial matters, he said. Dave was the key note speaker at a round table panel discussion organised at Panjab University here by “a collective of lawyers” in association with the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association. The discussion, centring around ‘Institutional integrity: Judiciary in light of recent developments’, was attended by senior advocates, office-bearers of bar associations and bar councils, law students and civil society members.

A majority of judges, he added, were good. He insisted that the bar must be a watchdog and look after itself first. The bar was required to become bold like in Pakistan, where it rose to back Chief Justice Iftikar Chaudhary against a military dictator.

Dave added as SCBA president, he convened an extraordinary general meeting for condemning the then Chief Justice of India HL Dattu for late night listing of matters. The Bar Association’s action was successful and the practice was stopped.

He asserted that Judges had forced them to introspect. Sometimes, one was forced to raise his voice, some judges were trying to deflect justice. He stressed upon the need to build moral pressure on the institution after insisting that the Judges are not above the law.

Referring to Arunachal Pradesh’s former Chief Minister Kalikho Pul’s case, he said the suicide note was not inquired into. Dave also asserted that the suo motu notice should have been taken by the Supreme Court in Judge Loya’s death case.

As many as 470 lawyers of the Punjab and Haryana High Court have already written to CJI Dipak Misra, seeking probe by the CBI or a commission or special investigation team into the mysterious death of CBI judge, Mumbai, HP Loya.