Loya case: Change of roster in Bombay HC routine affair: SC

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday said questions should not be raised over the change in the judge hearing the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case in Bombay High Court, as the change in the roster was a "routine" affair which is in accordance with the established tradition there.

The apex court said this after the Bombay lawyers' Association, which has filed a petition seeking independent probe into the alleged mysterious death of Special CBI judge B H Loya, argued that it was a deliberate attempt to remove Justice Revati Mohite-Dere of the Bombay High Court from hearing the appeals in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case.

"Your arguments may not be correct. It is a routine affair in Bombay High Court which is part of its established tradition there. Every 8-10 weeks the roster changes and no judges are allowed to hear a part-heard matter," said a bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud.

Senior advocate Dushyant Dave, appearing for the lawyers' body, said that a new development has taken place in Bombay High Court recently in which Justice Revati Mohite-Dere, who was hearing the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case and

asked "searching and intriguing questions" from the CBI was assigned to hear bail and anticipatory bail applications.

"Those judges, who stood in the way were punished and those who have dealt were awarded. This was a deliberate attempt to take away the case from the judge in the name of roster change," Dave said. To this, Justice Chandrachud said that he has served in the Bombay HC and knows the practice of roster change there and which is not common among other HCs of the country.