‘Dealing Loya’s case with utmost care’

New Delhi, February 19

The Supreme Court today said it was treating the case relating to the death of special CBI judge BH Loya with “utmost seriousness” and considered it as a “cause” irrespective of what was said outside the courtroom.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra assured senior advocate Dushyant Dave that nobody can stop him from arguing the case and the top court was dealing the matter with “utmost care”.

The court's remark came after Dave, who was appearing for Bombay Lawyers' Association, claimed that the Bar Council of India has recently issued a show-cause notice to him for arguing the case related to Loya's death.

Loya, who was hearing the high-profile Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, had allegedly died of cardiac arrest in Nagpur on December 1, 2014 when he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleague's daughter.

“A member of judicial fraternity has died. We are treating this case with utmost seriousness and considering it as a cause. No matter what is said outside the courtroom, we will be doing our duty. As far as we are concerned, we assure you nobody can stop you (Dave) from arguing this case,” the Bench, which also comprised Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, said.

The observation came after Dave claimed that the counsel representing the petitioners in the case were under “pressure” despite the fact that they were persuing the case for a cause. “One cannot imagine under how much pressure we are working. We are fighting this for a cause. It is too serious a matter. A judge has died under mysterious circumstances. We are working with our hands tied at the back. Things are not as it appears on surface,” Dave told the Bench. —PTI