Judge Loya: BJP asks Rahul not to fight political battles in court

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday lashed out at Congress president Rahul Gandhi and urged not to use the court to fight political battles after the Supreme Court dismissed pleas to seek probe in Judge Loya's death.

"The court said political battles must be fought on political grounds. It clearly means that the case was fought as a political battle against our party president Amit Shah. I urge Rahul Gandhi not to fight political battles through corridors of Court," Prasad said while a meeting.

"This case was not activated to serve the public interest but to serve the interests of Congress and damage the interests of BJP, our party President Amit Shah in particular," Prasad added.

Earlier in the day, a bench of apex court headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra dismissed petitions seeking SIT probe into Justice Loya's death case while ruling that he died of natural causes.

The court further observed that the petitions were 'frivolous and motivated' and filed to settle political rivalry.

Justice Loya was hearing the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, involving various police officers and Amit Shah, before his death in December 2014.

As per the official records, Justice Loya died of cardiac arrest in Nagpur in 2014, a day after he attended wedding and reception of his colleague's daughter.

Maharashtra-based journalist B.S. Lone and activist Tehseen Poonavala had filed independent pleas seeking a fair probe into his death alleging that he died under mysterious circumstances.