Mahua Moitra Sparks Debate in Lok Sabha Over Justice Loya’s Death During “Constitution Debate”; Kiren Rijiju Warns of Action, TMC MP Calls it “gender harassment”

A heated exchange unfolded in the Lok Sabha on Friday, the first day of the Constitution debate, after Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra made a reference to the untimely demise of Justice Brijgopal Harkishan Loya in 2014. Justice Loya, 48, who had been presiding over the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special court in Mumbai, passed away suddenly on December 1, 2014, while in Nagpur for a colleague’s daughter’s wedding. At the time of his death, he was handling the high-profile case of the alleged staged encounter killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh in 2005. The prime accused in the case was Amit Shah, then the Gujarat Minister of State for Home and currently the Union Home Minister. The Supreme Court later ruled that Loya’s death was “natural” and dismissed any foul play.

While Moitra did not challenge the Supreme Court’s judgment, she highlighted the contrast between Justice Loya’s untimely death and the longevity of Justice H.R. Khanna, a dissenting judge during the Emergency era. “The Honourable Defence Minister today mentioned the courage of the late Justice H.R. Khanna in 1976. May I remind everyone, Justice Khanna lived for 32 years under a largely Congress regime, long enough to write his autobiography, which the minister quoted from. Unlike poor Justice Loya, who is resting in peace long before his time,” Moitra said.

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju swiftly accused Moitra of raising a settled matter and warned of "appropriate parliamentary action." The remarks sparked a brief adjournment of the House, with Speaker Om Birla directing Moitra to authenticate her claims. Birla also assured opposition members that he would address concerns over Rijiju’s “threatening” language toward a female MP.

In response, Moitra wrote to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, accusing Rijiju of gender-based harassment. "Kiren Rijiju openly threatened me in Lok Sabha today, in complete violation of parliamentary rules. Speaker Om Birla has promised to have his words deleted, but no action has been taken yet," she said.

Moitra, meanwhile, criticised the BJP-led government for systematically eroding democracy over the last decade. Addressing the 75th anniversary of the Constitution, she stressed the need to protect the "idea of India" in its purest form.

During her speech, Moitra also took aim at the judiciary, particularly former Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, without naming him. She criticised the selective granting of bail, pointing to cases like that of Gulfisha Fatima, Haney Babu, Sharjeel Imam, and Umar Khalid, which she argued were overlooked by the judiciary despite similar circumstances.

"The outgoing CJI waxed eloquent on how the right to bail has been granted during his tenure.... From A for Arnab to Z for Zubair, his alphabets seem to be abbreviated because it did not include G for Gulfisha Fatima, did not include H for Haney Babu, did not include K for Khalid Saifi, did not include S for Sharjeel Imam, U for Umar Khalid and countless others," she said.

Moitra concluded with a pointed message to the judiciary: “Your legacy should not be personal or political. The Constitution is your only god, and it must be upheld above all else.”