Babri Masjid demolition case: SC issues notice to BJP leaders Advani, Joshi, 18 others
NEW DELHI: Senior BJP leaders including LK Advani have been asked to respond to a petition that asks for conspiracy charges against them in the Babri mosque demolition case.
Mr Advani and the others – MM Joshi, Uma Bharti and Kalyan Singh – have been given four weeks to respond to a notice by the Supreme Court.
The Allahabad High Court had earlier dropped conspiracy charges against these leaders for the 1992 razing of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya by Hindu activists.A petition by Mehboob Ahmed, a defendant in the Ayodhya lawsuit, wanted those charges to be restored.
The court has also issued notice to the CBI, which has asked for more time to come up with its arguments against the high court order. The investigating agency had filed an appeal against the dropping of conspiracy charges against Mr Advani and 20 others.
Mr Advani had questioned the delay in the CBI’s appeal and called it political agenda. The CBI told the court that the translation of documents took time.
The BJP leaders face charges in cases arising out of two FIRs or First Information Reports. The first alleges a conspiracy by “lakhs of unknown kar sevaks (volunteers).”The second FIR, which specifically charged Mr. Advani and other leaders with making inflammatory speeches leading to activists tearing down the 16th century domes.
The two cases were later merged and handed over to the CBI, which filed a composite charge sheet in October, 1993.In 2001, a lower court dropped the conspiracy charge against the leaders on the ground that the case related only to the kar sevaks. This was upheld by the High Court.
