NEW DELHI: The BJP and the Congress on Thursday engaged in a verbal slugfest shortly after the Supreme Court dismissed pleas seeking investigation in the death of special CBI judge BH Loya .

Soon after the verdict was out, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra told reporters that the public interest litigations (PILs) seeking a probe into Loya's death were like "political interest litigations".

Alleging that the "invisible hand" behind these petitions was of Rahul Gandhi and the Congress, Patra said the Congress chief should be "ashamed" for what he described as a conspiracy to target Amit Shah , the Indian judiciary and the country's democracy.

The Congress was quick to hit back, with senior leader Randeep Surjewala slamming the allegations against the Gandhi scion as a "malicious attempt" which showed the ruling party's "jitteriness".

"The BJP's attempt to misinterpret the Supreme Court judgement reflects their jitteriness and frustration. We reject and condemn the malicious attempts of the BJP to misinterpret the judgement for finger pointing," Surjewala said at a press briefing.

Terming the SC verdict a "sad letter day" in the nation's history, the Congress reiterated its demand for a fair probe into the "mysterious circumstances" surrounding Loya's death in December 2014. Loya died of a cardiac arrest while hearing the high-profile Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case.

"The suspicious circumstances in which Loya died was a matter of deep concern. But there are still questions before those who believe in the judiciary," Surjewala said .

"Congress party is committed to people’s demand for a fair investigation in the matter surrounding judge Loya's death," he added.

Union law minister and BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad countered the Congress, and charged the party with bringing up the Loya case solely for its vested political interests.

"This case was not activated to serve public interest but to serve the interests of Congress and damage the interests of BJP, our party President Amit Shah in particular," said Prasad.

The senior BJP leader went on to allege that in a meeting with the President, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had levelled serious allegations which amounted to "character assassination" of Shah.

Citing passages from the apex court's ruling, Prasad said the Congress had questioned the testimony of judges and maligned the judiciary in order to settle political scores.

"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," he said.

"BJP condemns with all the authorities at its command the reckless allegations made against the party president in the course of the court proceeding," Prasad added.

Earlier in the day, a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra ruled that judge Loya died of natural causes and that the petitions were a serious attempts to scandalise and obstruct the course of justice.

The top court, which was critical of the petitioners and their lawyers for making insinuations against judicial officers and judges, said an attempt was made to cause prejudice against them and it was a "vituperative assault on the judiciary."

It said with these petitions it has become clear that "a real attempt and frontal attack" was made on the independence of judiciary and the present case was a manifestation to carry forward a personal agenda.

In the wake of the SC ruling, Surjewala stressed that the Congress was not among the petitioners seeking a probe into the judge's death and recalled that the party had instead approached the "people's court" and approached President Ram Nath Kovind along with 14 other opposition parties.

"In this background, the BJP's attempt to make false capital out of the Supreme Court judgment must be condemned with strongest possible words," he added.

Criticising the SC verdict, the Congress spokesperson raised 10 questions relating to the case and noted that issue of criminality can be decided only through a probe.



In Video: Congress, BJP in verbal slugfest after SC rejects petitions for probe in Judge Loya's death