The Maharashtra Government has sanctioned the payment of Rs. 1.21 crore to Senior Counsel Mukul Rohatgi for representing the State before the Supreme Court in the petitions seeking independent probe into CBI Special Judge Brijgopal Harkishan Loya’s death.

Mr. Rohatgi had been appointed as the Special Prosecutor in the case by the State Government, along with former Solicitor General of India and Senior Advocate Harish Salve.

According to an RTI reply issued to activist Jatin Desai, Mr. Rohatgi appeared before the Apex Court eleven times in the matter, with Rs. 11 lakh approved as the fee for each hearing. The reply, however, did not provide the professional fees paid to Mr. Salve.

The two lawyers had represented the Maharashtra Government in the petitions which had finally been dismissed by the Supreme Court in April this year. The Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice A.M. Khanwilkar had then opined that the petitions lacked merit and that the conduct of the petitioners and the intervenors was “lacking in bona fides and reveals a misuse of the judicial process”.