Navy ex-chief writes to CJI, seeks probe into judge's death

Former Indian Navy chief Admiral (Retd) L Ramdas has written to Chief Justice Deepak Misra, seeking a judicial probe into the death of Judge Brijmohan Harikishan Loya, the special CBI judge in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case.

Loya (48), died of a heart attack in Nagpur on December 1, 2014, a day after he attended the wedding and reception of the daughter of a fellow judge.

In the letter to Justice Misra, a copy of which was also marked to Justice Manjula Chellur, Chief Justice of Bombay High Court, Ramdas wrote, "As a former chief of the Indian Navy, I feel strongly that it is critically important to clear any doubts about this entire incident. Therefore in the larger interests of the nation and its people, and above all in upholding the Constitution of India and the image of our entire legal system, a high-level judicial enquiry be initiated immediately."

"All democracies exist and survive on three main pillars“ namely the executive, legislature and the judiciary. Freedom from British rule was won after a prolonged struggle and The Indian Constitution was evolved after nearly two and a half years of debate in the Constituent Assembly and passed on November 29,  1949, and India became a Republic on January  26, 1950. Our Constitution became effective. This one and only holy book which matters, subscribes to the above concept of our democracy, wherein all our citizens are considered to be equal in the eyes of the law," the former chief of naval staff, who is a recipient of the Magsaysay Award  for Peace, stated in his letter.

According to Ramdas, a probe is must as Judge Loya, specially appointed by the  chief justice of the Bombay High Court to investigate the murder of Sohrabbudin, died under mysterious circumstances  in Nagpur.

"The silence of the two judges who apparently persuaded the late Judge Loya to travel to Nagpur, and accompanied him, is disturbing, to say the least. The inaction of the judiciary about this sequence of events thus far is indeed surprising. This is all the more puzzling in the context of the recent revelations by family members of the late Justice Loya, who have raised certain questions, apprehending foul play in the circumstances leading to his sudden death," Ramdas stated in his letter.