In the wake of four Supreme Court judges holding a press conference on the way cases are designated to judges, Congress President Rahul Gandhi has demanded that the death of Judge BH Loya, who was hearing the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, be probed into.
Rahul said the issues raised by the judges today are sensitive and extremely important. “They have mentioned that there is a threat to democracy and I think it needs to be looked into carefully. They have also made a point about Judge Loya’s case and I think that is also something that needs to be investigated properly. It needs to be looked at from the highest level of the Supreme Court,” he told reporters here on Friday after a meeting of senior party leaders in his house. The incident is unrprecedented, he added.
Senior legal luminaries associated with the Congress, P Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal, Salman Khurshid, Manish Tewari and Vivek Tankha, attended the meeting convened by Rahul. Sibal, who was apparently not in town, had been summoned back by Rahul for the meeting. Another party leader and senior lawyer Abhishek Singhvi, who was also not in Delhi, was also consulted.
The Congress issued a statement which said observations made by the judges and the issues raised by them are extremely disturbing. It said the party is deeply perturbed by the developments.
“The country holds the judiciary in the highest esteem and millions of people knock on the doors of the courts seeking justice. The non-finalisation of the Memorandum of Procedure has left nearly 40 per cent of the sanctioned posts of the judges vacant, leading to delay in justice delivery,” the statement said. The party appealed that the Full Court of the Supreme Court take up the issues raised by the four judges and find solutions.
“In the PIL concerning the death of Judge Loya, we believe that the matter must be entrusted to the senior-most judges of the Supreme Court who should ensure that under their supervision there is a thorough and impartial investigation of the case by an independent SIT,” it said.
It’s non-negotiable: CPI(M)The CPI(M) meanwhile said the integrity and independence of the judiciary, is a vital pillar of the Constitution and non-negotiable. “It is to be hoped all such issues will be resolved keeping in mind the principles of democratic functioning and transparency regarding the highest court of the land,” the party’s Politburo said in a statement.