Babri Masjid Demolition: BJP bigwigs face trial
In a major blow to senior BJP leaders, including LK Advani, MM Joshi and Uma Bharti, the Indian Supreme Court yesterday revived conspiracy charges against them in the Babri Masjid demolition case.
The apex court allowed the plea of the CBI challenging trial court and Allahabad HC orders that dropped conspiracy charges against 21 people, including the BJP leaders.
The bench of Justice PC Ghose and Justice RF Nariman directed the trial court to proceed expeditiously in the case, and said the court should not grant unnecessary adjournments in the trial proceeding. It also ordered daily hearings to ensure a verdict is delivered within two years.
However, the SC clarified that Kalyan Singh, being governor of Rajasthan, will not be tried due to constitutional immunity unless he ceases to be in that post. In effect, his trial will begin after his term as governor ends. He was chief minister of Uttar Pradesh when the mosque was demolished.
Advani, Joshi and six other BJP leaders were originally charged with making inflammatory speeches that motivated lakhs of right-wing volunteers or karsevaks to pull down the mosque in 1992. That trial was being held in Rae Bareli.
Now, the BJP leaders, facing far more serious charges, will be tried in Lucknow, where a separate case was filed against "lakhs of unknown karsevaks”. The case deals with the actual act of demolition and violence, reports The Hindu.
With yesterday's SC order, both these cases are merged and will be heard in Lucknow.
By combining the two trials, the judges want to ensure that a verdict is delivered within two years, according to a NDTV report.
The senior BJP leaders will be tried under the composite charge sheet filed by the CBI on October 5, 1993.
The CBI yesterday told the SC that top BJP leaders Advani, Joshi and Bharti had conspired with other accused for demolishing Babri Masjid in 1992, and sought revival of conspiracy charges against them.
Additional Solicitor General Niraj Kishan Kaul contended that eight leaders, who were being tried in Rae Bareli court for promoting enmity between classes, imputations, and assertions prejudicial to national integration, should also face prosecution for criminal conspiracy.
The ASG said 13 other accused were not facing any proceedings in any court after conspiracy charges against them were dropped. He pleaded with the apex court to revive proceedings against them, reports The Times of India.
"All acted under a larger conspiracy and proceedings should go on against them under Section 120B also. All the accused worked in tandem and they should be prosecuted together," Kaul told the court while seeking revival of conspiracy charges against the leaders.
Senior advocate KK Venugopal, appearing for Advani and Joshi, refuted the allegation of the CBI and told the bench that there was no evidence to substantiate conspiracy charges against them.
"Is it a case that he conspired with more than one lakh karsevaks. What is the conspiracy?. It had to be found out whether there was conspiracy at all. Section 120B was blindly mentioned in the case," he said.
Venugopal said that if the conspiracy charge was revived against the leaders then they should be tried only in Rae Bareli court, and there should be joint trial along with karsevaks.
On December 6, 1992, karsevaks of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) demolished Babri Masjid, a centuries-old Islamic structure in Ayodhya. The incident triggered communal riots across the country, claiming lives of over 3,000 people.
The site of the mosque was disputed as many Hindus believed, and continue to believe now, that it is the birthplace of Lord Ram.
Advani, along with others, was booked by the CBI for allegedly hatching a criminal conspiracy to demolish the mosque, which led to riots. However, they were later discharged by the Allahabad High Court.
The revival of the charges against Advani, considered to be one of the front-runners to succeed Pranab Mukherjee as the next Indian president, threatens to dent his chances, according to Indian daily The Financial Express.
Some media reports had earlier claimed that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
and BJP Chief Amit Shah proposed Advani's name for India's top post during a party meet at Somnath on March 8.
Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Uma Bharti, also water resources minister, appeared to be unfazed by the SC order.
Bharti said she was ready to sacrifice her life for construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya.
"Grand Ram temple in Ayodhya is my dream. Ready to go to prison or be hanged for India and Ram Mandir," she told reporters in New Delhi.
The BJP leader asserted that she was "proud, unapologetic" and does not repent her role in the Ram Janmabhoomi campaign.
"There was no conspiracy. Everything was in the open. I took part in Ram temple campaign with pride and confidence. I had given up the post of Chief Minister for the sake of the tri-colour,” she added.
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