Justice Loya case: Jitendra Singh demands Congress' apology

Hours after the Supreme Court dismissed a petitions seeking Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into Justice Loya's death case, Minister of State (MoS) for Prime Minister's Office, Jitendra Singh on Thursday asked the Congress party and party president Rahul Gandhi to apologise to target BJP chief Amit Shah in the case.

Speaking to ANI, Singh said, "I think this an occasion for Congress party and Rahul Gandhi to apologise to Amit Shah. Infact, they should apologise to the whole nation for such kind of defamation campaign that they marked on.

He further hit out at the Congress party for questioning the apex court's decision and said, "If you are doubting the credentials of the judiciary, you are doubting the credentials of the evidence report. They (Congress) only tend to believe what they say, I think it is not good for any healthy democracy."

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.