Congress says verdict in judge Loya's death is 'sad day in the history of India'

Senior leader and media incharge of the Congress Randeep Singh Surjewala on Thursday said that the judgment into the death of special CBI judge BH Loya has left many questions unanswered.

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court ruled that judge Loya's death was due to a natural cause, and went on to dismiss petitions seeking a probe. However, Surjewala contended that the death was not a natural one.

Surjewala said,''It's a sad day in the history of India. The issue of criminality or the lack thereof can only be decided through investigation. Judge Loya's death case was raised by 4 senior most judges of SC in a press conference. Congress is committed to peoples demand to a fair investigation in the case.''

''The issue of criminality can be determined through investigation. Without investigation one cannot decide whether the death was natural or unnatural,'' Surjewala further said.

Loya, who allegedly died of cardiac arrest on 1 December, 2014, had reportedly shared a hotel room with two judges when he was attending the wedding of a colleague's daughter in Nagpur.

He also said that two of Loya's colleagues, who were informed about the pressure he was facing in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh 'fake encounter' case, also died under suspicious circumstances.

Meanwhile, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said,''This was a case in the interest of Congress, not in the interest of the nation. This was not a case activated by public interest but driven to promote Cong interest. This was an attack on the judiciary.''

''Court said political battles must be fought on political grounds. It clearly means that the case was fought as political battle against our party President Amit Shah. I urge Rahul Gandhi not to fight political battles through corridors of Court,'' Union Minister RS Prasad said.

''An attempt to malign senior leaders of the party has failed, its clear that the judiciary cannot be made a field for political battles,'' Home Minister Rajnath Singh also said on Judge Loya's verdict.