CJI to head Loya bench

TT, New Delhi: Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra will head the bench that will from Monday hear two petitions seeking a probe into the 2014 death of special CBI judge B.H. Loya, who was trying a case in which BJP leader Amit Shah was an accused.

Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud will be the other two judges on the bench, whose possible composition had evoked curiosity after a dispute over allegedly preferential allocation of cases prompted the judge previously assigned the case to pull out.

Loya's death at a wedding in Nagpur had turned controversial after Shah was cleared within days in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case the CBI judge was hearing.

The subject fuelled more controversy on January 12 this year when the CJI was accused by the four other senior-most judges of assigning key cases to relatively junior judges, the insinuation being he was trying to influence outcomes.

The Loya case, handed to Justice Arun Mishra, 10th in seniority among 25 apex court judges, was cited as one of them.

On January 16, Justice Arun Mishra recused himself from the case, a day after breaking down at a meeting of judges and accusing the four dissidents of tarnishing his image.

Chief Justice Misra, as the master of the roster, has decided to hear the case himself. Justices Khanwilkar and Chandrachud are 17th and 18th, respectively, in seniority.

The two public interest petitions have been moved by Congress activist Tehseen Poonawala and Mumbai-based journalist Banduraj Sambhaji Lone.

The judges who revolted are Justices J. Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B. Lokur and Kurian Joseph.