Will Indian Supreme Court be successful in holding joint trial in the case of Babri masjid demolition
Posted by Zaheerul Hassan
According to Indian Tribune News Service, The case of Babri Mosque demolition demands revival of conspiracy
acy charges against senior BJP leaders LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi , Uma Bharti and others. They were charged in December 1992 but the case went into dormant since then due to prevailing’s extremist Hindu pressure and influence over the society.
on 6 the April 2017, Indian Supreme Court reserved its order on the CBI’s plea to revive conspiracy charges against the above stated leaders. Although earlier honourable Indian court gave decision in of not constracting temple by demolishing the historic Muslim Mosque but her efforts went into waste due to BJP , RSS and extermists Hindue threats to the judges and others.
A Bench of Justices PC Ghose and RF Nariman, heard the case for several hours, lamented that the matter was hanging fire even after 25 years. It termed the delay as “evasion of justice”.
Sixteen years after a Lucknow Special Court dropped the charge of criminal conspiracy against senior BJP and VHP leaders in the case on a technical ground, the saffron leaders may be in for legal trouble with the Supreme Court hinting that it might revive the case.
Indicating that it might shift the trial of the VVIP accused from a court in Rae Bareli to Lucknow, the Bench said in the interest of justice it would consider ordering a time-bound trial on a day-to-day basis to be completed preferably within two years.
“People cannot be discharged like this on a technical ground,” the Bench had said on March 6, hinting at allowing the CBI to file a supplementary chargesheet against them. Today, the Bench hinted it might order a joint trial of the two sets of cases by transferring the case of BJP leaders from Rae Bareli to Lucknow. The CBI said it was not averse to it.
“The impugned order of the Allahabad High Court, upholding the lower court order dropping the charge of conspiracy, ought to be set aside,” Additional Solicitor General NK Kaul told the Bench on behalf of the CBI.
Representing Advani and Joshi, senior counsel KK Venugopal opposed the possible shifting of trial and revival of criminal conspiracy, saying it would violate the fundamental right to life and liberty as also the right to fair and speedy trial. “This honourable court can’t use its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to undermine my fundamental rights,” he said.
Venugopal maintained that the recording of evidence was near-complete and 183 witnesses would have to be recalled for cross-examination. It would require conducting the entire proceedings afresh.
In the Rae Bareli case, the court had examined 57 witnesses and another 105 were to be examined. In the Lucknow case against kar sevaks, 195 witnesses had been examined by the trial court and the testimonies of 800 more were yet to be examined.
He said the use of Article 142 should be in accordance with law and due process of law as guaranteed in Article 21. The Supreme Court is seized of the CBI’s petition, challenging the 2010 Allahabad High Court order upholding the trial court’s order to discharge senior BJP leaders Advani, Joshi, Uma Bharti, Kalyan Singh and others.
Haji Mahboob Ahmad, president, Mahafiz-Masjid-Wa-Maqabir, too had moved the SC, claiming that with the BJP in power, the CBI may not press for reviving the criminal conspiracy charge.
The CBI had registered two sets of cases related to the demolition of the disputed structure in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992. The first one was against unnamed kar sevaks that was being tried in a court in Lucknow. The second one involved top BJP and VHP leaders. They were being tried at a Rae Bareli court.
By Satya Prakash
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, April 6
