The Supreme Court today dismissed a batch of petitions seeking an independent probe into the alleged mysterious death of special CBI judge BH Loya. A bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, said there is no reason to doubt the statements of judges accompanying Justice Loya that the death was due to a natural cause.

Holding that there was absolutely no merit in the petitions, the bench said, attempts were made to scandalise the judiciary by levelling serious allegations against judicial officers and judges of the Bombay High Court. The court said, with these petitions, it is clear that a real attempt and a frontal attack was made on the independence of the judiciary.

It said, frivolous and motivated litigation has been filed to settle political rivalry. Justice Loya, who was hearing the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, had allegedly died of cardiac arrest in Nagpur on 1st December 2014 when he had gone to attend a wedding.