New Delhi: Several former bureaucrats and diplomats on Saturday appealed to the Chief Justice of India and the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court to institute a “high level judicial enquiry” into the circumstances surrounding the death of CBI judge Brijgopal Harkishan Loya.

Loya had heard the SohrabuddinSheikh fake encounter case in which BJP chief Amit Shah was eventually acquitted, a month after the judge’s death in November 2014 apparently after cardiac arrest.

Amongst the 32 signatories listed in the appeal are at least 10 officers who retired either as Secretaries to the Government of India or from posts in that rank, 4 former Ambassadors from the Indian Foreign Service, a former Chief Information Commissioner of a State Government, 2 former Chief Secretaries of State Governments, at least 4 officers of the rank of Additional Chief Secretaries and several others who retired at the rank of Secretary to State Governments or above. Almost all these officers were also signatories to an open letter written on June 10 this year in which they asserted that they had no political affiliations as a group but were bound only to the credo of impartiality, neutrality and commitment to the Constitution of India.
We will be grateful if you cover our appeal in print, digital/ social media or visual media.
December 2, 2017
The Honourable Chief Justice of India
The Honourable Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court
Honourable Chief Justices,
Please find attached a report about the request made by Admiral (Retd.) L.Ramdas to yourselves that a high level judicial enquiry be initiated into the controversial circumstances of the death of Judge Brijgopal Harkishan Loya. Justice (Retd.) B.H.Marlapalle, former judge of the Bombay High Court, and Justice (Retd.) A.P.Shah, former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, have also expressed the opinion that a probe or enquiry is needed.
We, the undersigned retired civil servants, would like to place on record our support for the request made by Admiral (Retd.) L.Ramdas to institute a “high level judicial inquiry” into this matter and urge you to take appropriate action for all the reasons mentioned in his representation.
Yours faithfully,
1. S.P. Ambrose, IAS (Retd.), former Additional Secretary, Ministry of Shipping and Transport, GoI.
2. Ishrat Aziz, IFS (Retd.), former Ambassador to Brazil
3. G.Balagopal, IAS (Retd.), former Resident Representative, UNICEF, North Korea
4. Sundar Burra, IAS (Retd.), former Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra
5. Kalyani Chaudhuri, IAS (Retd.), former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal
6. Vibha Puri Das, IAS (Retd.), former Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs,GoI
7. Keshav Desiraju, IAS (Retd.), former Health Secretary, GoI
8. M.G.Devasahayam, IAS (Retd.), former Secretary to Govt. of Haryana
9. Sushil Dubey, IFS (Retd.), former Ambassador to Sweden
10. K.P.Fabian, IFS (Retd.), former Ambassador to Italy
11. Meena Gupta, IAS (Retd.), former Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests, GoI
12. Deepa Hari, IRS (Resigned)
13. Dr. Sajjad Hassan, IAS (Retd.), former Commissioner (Planning), Govt. of Manipur
14. K. John Koshy, IAS (Retd.), former State Chief Information Commissioner, West Bengal
15. Ajai Kumar, Indian Forest Service (Resigned), former Director, Ministry of Agriculture, GoI
16. Arun Kumar, IAS (Retd.), former Chairman, National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority
17. Harsh Mander, IAS (Retd.), Govt. of Madhya Pradesh
18. Aditi Mehta, IAS (Retd.), former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of Rajasthan
19. Sunil Mitra, IAS (Retd.), former Secretary, Ministry of Finance, GoI
20. Deb Mukharji, IFS (Retd.), former Ambassador to Nepal
21. Anup Mukerji, IAS (Retd.), former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Bihar
22. Alok Perti, IAS (Retd.) former Secretary, Ministry of Coal, GoI
23. N.K. Raghupathy, IAS (Retd.), former Chairman, Staff Selection Commission, GoI
24. Aruna Roy, IAS (Resigned)
25. Manab Roy, IAS (Retd.), former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal
26. Umrao Salodia, IAS (Retd.), former Chairman, Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation, Govt. of Rajasthan
27. Deepak Sanan, IAS (Retd.), former Principal Adviser (AR) to the Chief Minister of the Govt. of Himachal Pradesh
28. E.A.S. Sarma, IAS, (Retd.), former Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, GoI
29. Dr.N.C.Saxena, IAS (Retd.), former Secretary, Planning Commission, GoI
30. Ardhendu Sen, IAS (Retd.), former Chief Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal
31. Dr. Raju Sharma, IAS (Retd.), former Member, Board of Revenue, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh
32. Jawhar Sircar, IAS (Retd.), former Secretary, Ministry of Culture, GoI, and CEO, Prasar Bharati